FBI Reclassifies 2017 Shooting on GOP Congressional Baseball Team as Domestic Terrorism

The FBI seal is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, D.C., on July 5, 2016. YURI GRIPAS/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI on Friday reclassified the 2017 shooting that almost killed Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as domestic terrorism, backtracking on an earlier designation of the attack as “suicide by cop.”

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who was practicing baseball with Scalise and a Republican Congressional Team at the time, said that the gunman, James Hodgkinson, fired around 100 shots at the team. Hodgkinson, who was armed with a rifle, had a history of posting angry messages against then-Republican President Donald Trump.

Members of the FBI gather at the crime scene after a shooting during a practice of the Republican congressional baseball team at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, Va., on June 14, 2017. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., is seen in this undated photo posted on his social media account. Social Media via Reuters

The change in designation was outlined in a FBI-DHS report released on May 14 titled “Security Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic Terrorism,” which lists the Alexandria, Virginia, shooting incident by a “Domestic Violent Extremist” as one of approximately 85 FBI-designated “significant domestic terrorism” incidents from 2015 through 2019.

The attack targeted the GOP lawmakers as they were practicing for a charity baseball game at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park on June 14, 2017. Hodgkinson fired over 100 rounds before being shot by law enforcement officers. Bullets he fired struck Scalise, two U.S. Capitol Police officers, a congressional staffer, and a lobbyist.

Scalise was severely wounded in the attack.

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) uses crutches after returning to the Capitol Hill for the first time after being shot in June at a congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va., in Washington on Sept. 28, 2017. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Prior to the attack, the gunman had made social media posts backing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and left-wing causes.

The FBI’s “suicide by cop” designation, or an effort to be gunned down by law enforcement, was not made public until a congressional hearing last month.

That prompted Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), who was also present when Hodgkinson opened fire, to send a letter to the FBI on May 11 demanding a review, saying the agency’s classification as such “defies logic” and “contradicts the publicly known facts about the perpetrator and the attack.”

Noting Hodgkinson’s public hatred of former President Donald Trump and Republican politicians, Wenstrup said he had a “list of names” including GOP Congress members in his possession during the shooting.

The FBI said in 2017 that Hodgkinson had searched online for two members of Congress and carried a piece of paper containing the names of six GOP congress members.

Additionally, a witness said Hodgkinson asked whether the baseball team on the field was a Republican or Democrat one, and when he was told it was a Republican one, he remained at the field before opening fire.

He also made “numerous posts on all of his social media accounts espousing anti-Republican views,” the bureau said in 2017, including a post on Facebook that said “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”

Wenstrup on Saturday praised the FBI’s decision to reclassify the shooting incident as domestic terrorism but said he will push for answers as to why the agency gave its original designation.

FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 2, 2021. Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters

“Our intelligence and law enforcement apparatuses require accuracy, precision, and justice. I’m encouraged that the FBI has updated its classification of that nearly catastrophic event to reflect the actual motives of the assailant, and I commend Director Wray for his oversight of that correction,” Wenstrup said. “I will continue to work with the Bureau toward investigating what led to the original ’suicide by cop' determination.”

The FBI and Rep. Scalise didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment by The Epoch Times.

Separately, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on May 11 announced that it is creating a new dedicated domestic terrorism branch within its Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) to  combat threats posed by domestic terrorism and targeted violence.

In February, the department said it had, for the first time, marked domestic terrorism as a “national priority area” state and local preparedness grants. It allocated at least $77 million to directly combat domestic violent extremism—a priority issue under President Joe Biden’s administration.

The most significant terrorist threats now come from “small groups of individuals who commit acts of violence motivated by domestic extremist ideological beliefs,” agency chief Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement at the time.

Zachary Stieber and Reuters contributed to this report.