Rep. Angie Craig attacked in her D.C. apartment building; suspect arrested

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Rep. Angie Craig was assaulted Thursday morning in the elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment building, her chief of staff said.

"This morning around 7:15 a.m., Rep. Craig was assaulted in the elevator of her apartment building in Washington, D.C.," Nick Coe, her chief of staff, said in a statement.

"Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay."

Craig called 911 and the suspect fled the scene, Coe added in the statement.

"There is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated," the statement said.

The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin of no fixed address, has been arrested and charged with simple assault, the Metropolitan Police Department announced in a statement Thursday evening.

Authorities had earlier released a picture of the suspect while asking for the public's assistance in locating him.

A police report obtained by The Washington Post stated that the lawmaker, a member of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, first saw the suspect in the lobby of her building "acting erratic" and seemingly under the influence of drugs.

Craig said "good morning" to the man before entering the elevator with the suspect following her, according to the report.

Inside, he began to perform pushups before punching Craig in the chin and grabbing her by the neck, police said in the report. In defense, Craig threw coffee at the suspect, who then fled the scene.

UPI has contacted D.C. police for comment.

Craig, the first openly LGTBQ member of Congress from her state, wouldn't go into specifics about the attack but told reporters from the Capitol that she was having "a bad morning," The Hill reported.

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the attack in a statement.

"We are all very grateful that she is safe and recovering, but appalled that this terrifying assault took place," Jeffries said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also hailed Craig's strength and dedication to her office.

"To give you a sense of how strong @AngieCraigMN is, she went straight to the Hill this morning and attended a meeting in the Senate with the Governor and me and several members of our delegation about legislation for the people of her district," she tweeted, referring to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. "No one messes with Angie."

Concerns for the safety of lawmakers have grown following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot that saw a significant breach of the U.S. Capitol building, and an assault on Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband in her home last year.

In 2022, the U.S. Capitol Police investigated 7,501 threats against members of Congress.