Rep. Gerry Connolly called an assault on two of his staffers “unconscionable and devastating” Monday in a press release accusing a baseball bat-wielding attacker of wreaking havoc in his Virginia district office.
“This morning an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against members of my staff,” the Democratic congressman wrote.
“My District Office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day,” Connolly added. “The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating.”
The City of Fairfax Police Department confirmed the attack on Facebook.
“The staff members have been transported to local area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries,” according to law enforcement. “The suspect is in police custody.”
Further information about the alleged assailant and that person’s motivation is so far unclear.
The northern Virginia representative is an outspoken critic of former president Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which led to a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. He is also a staunch defender of reproductive rights.
Harvard Kennedy School professor Erica Chenoweth told the Los Angeles Times in October violence against public officials is on the rise.
“Unfortunately, this is a continuation of at least a 2½-year-long established pattern of violence against elected officials and local officials, including poll workers, that has been steadily ramping up,” she said.
Capitol Hill Police said there were twice as many threats against members of Congress and their families in 2018 than the previous year.
The elderly husband of longtime House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was hospitalized after being attacked by a hammer-wielding man searching for the prominent Democratic lawmaker in October. She was in Washington D.C. at the time. Right-wing trolls mocked the 82-year-old victim and his wife after the attack.
Connolly is serving his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives.