Madeline covered this story yesterday. There was an assault on Democratic Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN), who was punched in the face by a man in the elevator of her apartment building. There’s no evidence that this was politically motivated. Her statement said the Minnesota Democrat is bruised but otherwise physically okay. The assailant appeared to be under the influence of something. It’s a bizarre tale where the man greeted the congresswoman in the elevator, who later started doing push-ups before punching her. Rep. Craig threw hot coffee on her assailant, who then fled. Police were called and canvassed the area, but the attacker was gone.
Statement by Rep. Angie Craig's Chief of Staff: pic.twitter.com/YHXKJkuK42
— Angie Craig (@RepAngieCraig) February 9, 2023
It was reported last night that a suspect had been identified and arrested, but police wouldn’t divulge how they found the individual (via CBS News):
Police announced that a suspect has been arrested in connection with an assault Thursday morning on Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat from Minnesota, in the elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment building. Craig suffered bruising in the attack, her office said.
The DC Metropolitan Police Department reported Thursday night that 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin was arrested on a charge of simple assault. Police did not immediately disclose how Hamlin was identified and taken into custody.
The incident occurred around 7:15 a.m. on Thursday morning, Craig's chief of staff Nick Coe said in a statement. Craig saw the assailant in the lobby area of her apartment building, located several blocks northeast of the U.S. Capitol, "acting erratic as if he were under the influence of an unknown substance," according to a public incident report from the district's Metropolitan Police Department.
[…]
Before the arrest, U.S. Capitol Police said they believed the man who attacked Craig is homeless.
"At this time, there is no indication that the Congresswoman was targeted because of her position; however, the case is still under investigation by both the MPD and the USCP," the agency said.
I’m just going to say this could spark some conspiracy theories. How can you not tell us how this man who punched a member of Congress in the face was found? What evidence led them to arrest Hamlin? It’s like the Paul Pelosi home invasion saga, where there was audio and visual evidence from police bodycams and the home security network that wasn’t released until an alliance of news organizations filed a lawsuit for their full disclosure. An immediate release would have debunked many nutty, albeit entertaining, conspiracy theories about that assault.
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