Angie Craig alleged attacker indicted on charges of assaulting member of Congress
Cami Mondeaux
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A grand jury voted to indict a man on charges related to the attack of Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) inside her Washington, D.C., apartment building last month.
The jury indicted Kendrick Hamlin on three federal counts, including assault against a member of Congress. The charges come after Hamlin allegedly attacked Craig inside her apartment building on Feb. 9 in an incident that her office says was not politically motivated.
POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER REP. ANGIE CRAIG ASSAULTED IN APARTMENT ELEVATOR
Hamlin has requested to be released from pretrial detention, and he is scheduled to appear before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 5.
Craig was physically assaulted inside an elevator as she was leaving her apartment building around 7:15 a.m. on Feb. 8. Craig reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, leading to the arrest of the 26-year-old male later that evening.
The Minnesota congresswoman reported seeing the suspect inside the lobby of her apartment building before the attack. The man was “acting erratic,” as if he 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 pushups,” 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.”
Hamlin fled the scene before officials arrived but was later arrested. He faces one charge of simple assault.
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The attack renewed concerns from law enforcement officials who 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,” Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told the Senate in December. “Hate, intolerance, and violence are part of this disturbing trend.”