Two Democratic Staffers Hospitalized After Being Attacked by Man With a Baseball Bat in Rep.'s Virginia Office
CNN reports that, according to Rep. Gerry Connolly, the alleged assailant used a metal bat to strike one senior aide in the head and also hit an intern "on her first day on the job" in the side
Two staffers of Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly have been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after being attacked by a man with a bat in the representative's Fairfax office Monday.
CNN reports that, according to Connolly, the alleged assailant used a metal bat to strike one senior aide in the head and also hit an intern "on her first day on the job" in the side.
In a statement, Connolly said the alleged attacker entered the office looking for him.
"This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff," Connolly said in the statement.
He continued: "The individual is in police custody and both members of my team were transferred to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Right now, our focus is on ensuring they are receiving the care they need. We are incredibly thankful to the City of Fairfax Police Department and emergency medical professionals for their quick response."
CNN reports that the man who is now in custody is a constituent of Connolly's but is not known by the lawmaker and "caused wide damage in his office, shattering glass in a conference room and breaking computers along the way."
The incident comes in the wake of other attacks on lawmakers or those close to them.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, was brutally attacked with a hammer after an assailant broke into their home in October.
During the overnight assault, his wife was in Washington, D.C., per U.S. Capitol Police, when the intruder allegedly "confronted the speaker's husband" and shouted, "Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?"
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Threats against lawmakers and election officials spiked following the 2020 presidential election, particularly as legal challenges to the election brought by former President Donald Trump ramped up.
According to a report released last June, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney received "a stream of death threats" since she joined a small group of Republican lawmakers in voting to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
A New York Times story published at the time revealed that Cheney's campaign paid $58,000 for individual security detail between January and March as a result of those threats.
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