Rep. Angie Craig assaulted in apartment elevator, office says
Cami Mondeaux
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Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was assaulted inside her Washington, D.C., apartment building on Thursday morning in an incident that her office says was not politically motivated.
Craig was physically assaulted inside an elevator as she was leaving her apartment building around 7:15 a.m. on Thursday, the Minnesota Democrat’s office said. Craig contacted the Metropolitan Police Department shortly after the attack, and law enforcement officials are currently investigating the incident.
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Craig reported seeing the suspect inside the lobby of her apartment building before the attack, but the man was “acting erratic,” as if was under the influence of some substance, according to the MPD. The Minnesota Democrat greeted the man as she walked toward the elevator, and the man followed her inside.
Once inside, the suspect “began to randomly do push ups,” the police report stated. The suspect then allegedly punched Craig in the face and grabbed her neck.
Craig then threw her cup of hot coffee at her attacker before escaping the elevator. Craig sustained some “bruising, but is otherwise physically okay,” Craig’s office said in a statement. “There is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated.”
It’s not clear whether the MPD has identified a suspect in the case, and no arrests have been made.
The attack comes as law enforcement officials have warned of a rise in violence toward members of Congress, with the U.S. Capitol Police recording more than 9,000 threats against lawmakers in 2022.
“I cannot overstate the scope, breadth, and intensity of the nation’s current threat climate,” USCP Chief Thomas Manger told the Senate in December. “Hate, intolerance, and violence are part of this disturbing trend.”
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Craig’s attack follows a series of high-profile assaults against lawmakers last year, including an instance in which Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) was attacked onstage during a campaign event in July. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband was also violently attacked last year inside the couple’s personal residence in California, prompting Manger to call for increased security measures for lawmakers.
“The attacks on Rep. Lee Zeldin and Paul Pelosi, as well as the threats directed towards other members of Congress, are a sad reminder of the extent to which our social fabric has frayed,” he said.