A homeless man accused of attacking Democrat Rep. Angie Craig in her apartment building was arrested by Washington, DC, law enforcement authorities on Thursday night.
The Minnesota congresswoman was assaulted early Thursday morning by a man who was “acting erratic” like he was on drugs, while in the lobby of her apartment complex.
Craig told the cops that she said “good morning” to the man and he followed her into the elevator.
Once inside, he started to “randomly do pushups,” before punching her in the chin “with a closed fist” and then grabbing her by the neck.
The 50-year-old lawmaker fended him off by tossing her hot coffee at him, and the man escaped before police arrived on scene.
Craig “suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay,” after defending herself during the scary ordeal.
She didn’t let the incident ruin her day, and continued off to Capital Hill after the attack.
“Angie is tough as nails — she immediately got back to work and voted on the House floor. I’m glad to have met with her this morning and hear she’s doing well,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect when they released his photos mid-afternoon.
Their efforts clearly panned out, as they arrested 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin, a local homeless man, and charged him with simple assault on Thursday night.
In a statement, her Chief of Staff noted that “there is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated,” and thanked the police for their “quick response.”
Fellow Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman, hasn’t fared as well as Craig, after getting lightheaded on Wednesday night, during a retreat with the Democratic Party.
The Pennsylvania senator was rushed to the hospital over and remained overnight for testing, but has not shown signs of another stroke.
Fetterman, 53, has suffered from auditory processing issues and speech difficulties since his first stroke in May of 2022.
“According to John’s doctors at The George Washington University Hospital, the results of the MRI, along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a new stroke,” his office reported on Thursday afternoon.
They also noted that he was “being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure,” despite not showing any signs of the neurological disorder.
Thursday also marked the day that the House of Representatives came together in a 419-0 vote to condemn Chinese Communist Party for their “brazen violation of United States sovereignty,” by sending a “high-altitude surveillance balloon over United States territory” last week.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose office was infiltrated by suspected Chinese spy, Fang Fang, in 2014, was one of fifteen members of the House who did not vote on the resolution.
The balloon, which was said to be the length of multiple buses, was shot down by Air Force F-22 missile off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.
The U.S. Navy has been scouring an area that is “15 football fields by 15 football fields” in the Atlantic Ocean to retrieve the balloon’s debris.
The FBI is analyzing the parts of the balloon that have been recovered, including the “canopy itself, the wiring, and then a very small amount of electronics,” but are still waiting for the Navy to locate the “payload.”
The State Department said that balloon contained technology capable of monitoring communications, as it drifted across the continental United States for days.
“We know the PRC used these balloons for surveillance,” a spokesperson said on Thursday.
“High-resolution imagery from U-2 flybys revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations.”
However, President Biden claimed that despite the State Department’s analysis, the Chinese spy balloon was “not a major breach.”
“I mean, look, it’s totally … it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it,” he commented on Thursday.
He also defended the decision to refrain from shooting it down from the get go.
“This thing was gigantic. What happened if it came down and hit a school in a rural area? What happened if it came down,” Biden questioned.
“So I told them as soon as they could shoot it down, shoot it down. They made a wise decision. They shot it down over water, they’re recovering most of the parts, and they’re good.”