Democratic Rep. Angie Craig calls for DC crime crackdown after elevator attack
Brady Knox
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Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) called for a crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., after she was attacked in the district.
Craig was allegedly attacked by Kendrid Hamlin, 26, early Thursday morning in her apartment building’s elevator. Hamlin reportedly got violent after Craig declined to let him use her bathroom. He reportedly punched the representative in the face and grabbed her in an attempt to prevent her from reaching the elevator keypad. She was able to escape after she threw her coffee at him.
Hamlin was found to have a long rap sheet of over eight years. He’s been prosecuted for sexual and violent crimes. In November, he was arrested after getting violent with Capitol officers who found him lying on the ground. He assaulted several and spit blood in another officer’s face. He was released after just 35 days, and he went on to assault Craig shortly thereafter.
REP. ANGIE CRAIG ALLEGED ATTACKER TO APPEAR BEFORE FEDERAL COURT ON MONDAY
The Minnesota representative appeared on CBS News to discuss the assault. She used the opportunity to call for the city to be tougher on crime.
“I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning,” she said. “And so I think we have to think about how in the world can we make sure that we’re not just letting criminals out.”
“I mean, it wasn’t even in every instance that he got 10 days or 30 days. Many times, the charges were completely dropped before any justice was achieved at all,” she added.
“If you throw somebody in jail for 10 days and think, ‘There’s your punishment, and we’re gonna let you right back on the street,’ what the hell do you think’s gonna happen?” she said.
She said the main problem was repeat offenders.
“We have to get these repeat offenders off the streets. We also have got to figure out how we get people the mental health and addiction help that they need because these people are getting back out and just recommitting the same crimes over and over and over again,” Craig said.
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Craig is the latest Democrat to push for backtracking of progressive rhetoric and legislation surrounding crime.