Congressional Republican Staffer Attacked at Gunpoint

Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) said Friday that one of his staffers was attacked by a man with a gun outside of his home.

The incident reportedly took place after the annual Congressional Baseball Game.

According to a press release from the Republican lawmaker, the attack at gunpoint occurred “just blocks from the U.S. Capitol building.”

“Following Wednesday’s Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, one of my staffers was attacked outside of his residence by an armed gunman,” said Rep. Finstad.

“Thankfully, he will be able to make a full recovery and the extent of his physical injuries was minor. I thank the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their quick response and their attention to this incident.”

“In Washington, D.C. and cities across the country, anti-police, soft-on-crime policies have created lawless societies that endanger the public and empower criminal behavior. It’s time we started treating criminals like criminals and bring back commonsense policies that imprison career criminals, keep the public safe, and allow our police officers to adequately protect our communities and keep violent criminals off the streets,” he added.

Following Wednesday’s Congressional Baseball Game, one of my staffers was attacked outside of his residence by an armed gunman. Thankfully, he will be able to make a full recovery and the extent of his physical injuries was minor. https://t.co/Jco39dywx9

— Congressman Brad Finstad (@RepFinstad) June 16, 2023

The Hill reports:

Violent crime in the district has been on the rise in recent months. In a year-to-date data comparison, violent crime is up 21 percent in 2023, compared with violent crime data collected at the same point in 2022. Property crime is up 29 percent in 2023, and total crime is up 28 percent, in the same comparison.

In a year-end comparison, crime in D.C. was down slightly in 2022, compared with 2021 data. Violent crime was down 7 percent, and property crime was down 3 percent, bringing total crime down 4 percent in 2022.

KARE 11 cited an incident report by the D.C. Metropolitan police that said two men wearing black hoodies pushed the staffer to the ground outside an apartment complex, pointed a gun, and demanded his belongings.

Per KARE 11:

The attack of Finstad’s staffer comes just four months after fellow Representative Angie Craig (D-2nd District) was assaulted inside an elevator at her D.C. apartment building. Craig told police a man followed her into the elevator and punched her in the face. She was able to defend herself by throwing her coffee on the attacker, who then escaped.

Police later arrested 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin, also known as Hamlin Khalil Hamlin, and charged him with assault.