By MATTHEW BARAKAT (Associated Press)
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A person with a steel baseball bat walked into the northern Virginia workplace of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly on Monday, requested for him, and struck two of his staff with the bat, together with an intern in her first day on the job, police and the congressman stated.
The assault marked the most recent in a pointy uptick in violence geared toward lawmakers or these near them.
Fairfax City Police stated officers arrived inside minutes and took the person into custody with out incident and that the 2 workers members have been being handled for accidents that weren’t life-threatening.
The congressman, who wasn’t within the workplace on the time, stated he knew of no motive for the assault, calling it “unconscionable and devastating” in a submit on Twitter.
Connolly stated in an interview that the suspect was identified to police in Fairfax, including, “he’s never made threats to us so it was unprovoked, unexpected and inexplicable.”
“I have no reason to believe that his motivation was politically motivated, but it is possible that the sort of toxic political environment we all live in, you know, set him off, and I would just hope all of us would take a little more time to be careful about what we say and how we say it.”
Connolly stated the 2 folks attacked have been an intern, who was struck within the aspect, and his outreach director, who was hit on the top.
“Both of them are conscious and talking. They’re both are in shock. Their families were with them too,” Connolly stated.
The U.S. Capitol Police and Fairfax City Police recognized the suspect as Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, 49, of Fairfax. He was being held with out bond on the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on fees of malicious wounding and aggravated malicious wounding.
It was not instantly clear if the person had an legal professional who may converse for him.
“At this time, it is not clear what the suspect’s motivation may have been,” Capitol Police stated in a information launch saying a joint investigation with the Fairfax City Police Department.
Special Agents with the Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section have been despatched to Fairfax.
Fairfax City Police spokesperson Sgt. Lisa Gardner stated police acquired a name in regards to the assault at Connolly’s district workplace within the Virginia suburb of the nation’s capital at about 10:50 a.m.
“You could absolutely tell that the people inside were scared. They were hiding. Someone swinging a bat around, I would be scared as well,” Gardner stated.
Police arrived in about 5 minutes and situated the suspect within the workplace, rapidly detaining him with out additional incident, Gardner stated.
Police stated in a information launch that one police officer required remedy for a minor damage.
Last month, United States Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger testified in regards to the heightened risk local weather throughout the nation.
“One of the biggest challenges we face today is dealing with the sheer increase in the number of threats against Members of Congress — approximately 400% over the past six years,” stated Chief Manger. “Over the course of the last year, the world has continuously changed, becoming more violent and uncertain.”
Connolly, a Democrat at the moment serving his eighth time period in Congress, represents Virginia’s Fairfax County-based eleventh District within the Washington suburbs. He advised CNN that his workplace sustained injury, together with damaged home windows.
Other elected officers from Virginia swiftly condemned the violence.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner retweeted Connolly’s assertion, calling the assault an “extraordinarily disturbing development.”
“Intimidation and violence – especially against public servants – has no place in our society,” he stated.
“The coward who did this should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” tweeted Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican.
Since the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol, threats to lawmakers and their households have elevated sharply. The U.S. Capitol Police investigated round 7,500 instances of potential threats towards members of Congress in 2022. The 12 months earlier than, they investigated round 10,000 threats to members, greater than twice the quantity from 4 years earlier.
In October, a person broke into the San Francisco dwelling of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, demanding to talk together with her, earlier than he smashed her husband, Paul, over the top with a hammer.
In July, a person accosted New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican who was working for governor of New York, as he spoke at a marketing campaign occasion and advised Zeldin, “You’re done.” Zeldin wrestled the person to the bottom and escaped with solely a minor scrape.
“Violence does not belong in our political system and my prayers are with Rep. Gerry Connolly’s staff for a speedy recovery,” stated Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican. “We’ve seen this against our judiciary, we’ve seen this against our legislative branch and it has no place in our Commonwealth.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”