Two of Rep. Connolly’s aides attacked his Virginia office with a baseball bat: What we know

Two staff members of Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after they were attacked in the congressman’s district office Monday morning, Connolly said.

A person with a baseball bat entered Connolly’s office and asked about the lawmaker before “committing an act of violence” against the two staffers, Connolly said in a statement released this afternoon.

“I have the best team in Congress,” Connolly added. “The thought that someone would take advantage of the accessibility of my employees to commit an act of violence is incomprehensible and devastating.”

Police officers identified the suspect as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham of Fairfax, Virginia. He faces two charges, including one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of causing bodily harm with intent.

His motive was not immediately clear, the United States Capitol Police confirmed in a statement on Monday. Capitol Police and the Fairfax City Police Department are investigating the attack.

Connolly told CNN that the attacker hit a senior employee in the head with the metal bat and hit an intern who was on her first day of work in the side with the bat.

“He was filled with out-of-control anger,” Connolly told CNN, adding that the attacker also damaged the office, smashed glass in a conference room and broke computers.

The threats are increasing

The attack on Connolly’s office is the latest in several recent acts of political violence involving threats against members of Congress, their staff and families.

In October, Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries after being attacked with a hammer. An attacker broke into the couple’s San Francisco home and searched for the lawmaker before attacking Paul Pelosi.

In March, a Kentucky Republican Senate staffer, Rand Paul, was “indiscriminately and brutally attacked” in Washington, DC.

Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was attacked in her Washington home in February and suffered only bruises from the attack. According to Craig’s chief of staff, there was no evidence that the attack was politically motivated.

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The number of threats against members of Congress has more than doubled in the last five years. While the number of threat investigations in 2022 decreased slightly compared to the previous year, the number of cases remains historically high, according to the US Capitol Police.

“Threats against members of Congress remain too high,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement. “This has led to a necessary expansion not only of our investigative capabilities, but also of our responsibility to protect. While this work is ongoing, it is the best way to ensure everyone’s safety.”

“Very, very scary”

Connolly’s fellow Virginia lawmakers and bipartisan members of Congress quickly condemned the attack and sent their best wishes to the staff.

Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer called the event “very, very scary,” while Virginia Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger tweeted that she was horrified by the news.

“Thinking of your team and pleased to hear that none of the team members suffered life-threatening injuries,” she tweeted.

Virginia Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine also tweeted about the incident, with Warner calling the attack “an extraordinarily far-reaching development” and Kaine calling it “horrifying.”

“Intimidation and violence – particularly against public officials – have no place in our society,” Warner said.

Across the aisle, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee tweeted in response that “acts of violence cannot be tolerated.”

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said that “violence is unacceptable.”

“We must be aware that violence and hate are being fueled by the far-right MAGA right,” she tweeted.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he spoke with Connolly after the attack and asked the House sergeant-at-arms and U.S. Capitol Police to continue working with members for their safety.

“The safety of our members and staff remains of paramount importance, especially given the increasing cases of political violence in our country,” he said in a statement.

This is breaking news and this story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Two Connolly employees were attacked in his Fairfax, Virginia, office: What we know