WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Editor's Note: The video above first aired Feb. 13, 2023.
U.S. Congressman Brad Finstad (R-1st District) is calling for a tougher approach to crime after announcing that one of his staffers was attacked at gunpoint just blocks from the Capitol.
In a press release Finstad, a conservative from southeastern Minnesota, said the staff member was headed home following Wednesday's Congressional Baseball Game for Charity when he was attacked outside his residence by a man carrying a gun.
“Thankfully, he will be able to make a full recovery and the extent of his physical injuries was minor," Finstad said in a statement. "I thank the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their quick response and their attention to this incident.”
An incident report shared by D.C. Metropolitan police confirms Finstad's account, saying two men in black hoodies pushed the victim to the ground outside the Van Apartments, pointed a gun and demanded his belongings. The staffer told police he got up and ran away without giving the attackers his things.
The congressman used the incident to decry "anti-police, soft-on-crime policies have created lawless societies that endanger the public and empower criminal behavior" in the nation's capitol and across the country.
"It’s time we started treating criminals like criminals and bring back commonsense policies that imprison career criminals, keep the public safe, and allow our police officers to adequately protect our communities and keep violent criminals off the streets,” Finstad wrote.
KARE 11 has reached out to D.C. Metro Police for additional details on the incident.
The attack of Finstad's staffer comes just four months after fellow Representative Angie Craig (D-2nd District) was assaulted inside an elevator at her D.C. apartment building. Craig told police a man followed her into the elevator and punched her in the face. She was able to defend herself by throwing her coffee on the attacker, who then escaped.
Police later arrested 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin, also known as Hamlin Khalil Hamlin, and charged him with assault.
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