On Tuesday, Democrat Rep. Angie Craig spoke out against Washington, D.C.’s crime policies after a man allegedly attacked her in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building and demanded she let him in her residence. The man, identified as Kendrick Hamlin, 26, has a lengthy criminal record.
“I was assault No. 13 on his record. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure there is not a 14, a 15, a 20,” Craig said in an interview with CBS Mornings. “If you throw somebody in jail for ten days and think, you know, there’s your punishment, and we’re going to let you right back out on the street, what the hell do you think’s going to happen?”
CBS pointed out that Hamlin’s record includes striking a police officer, shoplifting, indecent exposure, and breaking and entering in D.C. Weeks prior, Hamlin served time for the incident with the police officer.
“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,” Craig 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,” she added, explaining that “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. “These people are getting back out and they’re just re-committing the same crimes over and over and over again.”
“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”: @RepAngieCraig is calling for changes to prevent known criminals from targeting new victims. pic.twitter.com/Q391z6UBtA
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 14, 2023
As Townhall covered, Craig’s attack occurred on Thursday morning just after 7 a.m. in the elevator of her building.
“This morning, around 7:15 a.m., Rep. Craig was assaulted in the elevator of her apartment in Washington DC. Rep. Craig defended herself from the attack and suffered bruising but is otherwise physically okay,” a statement from her office said. Craig called the police as the assailant left the scene.
Statement by Rep. Angie Craig's Chief of Staff: pic.twitter.com/YHXKJkuK42
— Angie Craig (@RepAngieCraig) February 9, 2023
According to a copy of the police report obtained by Fox News, Craig told police that the male suspect was “acting erratic” in the lobby of her apartment building “as if he was under the influence” of “an unknown substance.” He followed her into the elevator and began doing push-ups before punching Craig in the face and grabbing her neck. Craig threw her coffee at the alleged assailant. Two officers who arrived at the scene canvassed the area and could not find the suspect.
Hamlin was arrested the following day. And, as Matt pointed out, has been arrested many times. His alleged attack on the congresswoman comes around the time as D.C. Democrats push “soft-on-crime” bills.
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