Democrat Congressman’s Staffers Attacked by Man With Baseball Bat

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, on March 23, 2023. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said on May 15 that two staffers in his district office were attacked and are hospitalized.

“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. The individual is in police custody, and both members of my team were transferred to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” he said in a statement.

“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. I have the best team in Congress. My district office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day.

“The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating.”

The congressman didn’t name the victimized staffers or the assailant.

Capitol Police named Xuan Kha Tran Pham, 49, as the suspect. He faces one count each of aggravated malicious wounding and of malicious wounding.

Connolly has represented Virginia’s 11th Congressional District since 2009. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees.

On Twitter, members of Congress expressed outrage over the incident.

“Intimidation and violence—especially against public servants—has no place in our society. This is an extraordinarily disturbing development, and my thoughts are with the staff members who were injured,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote.

“This violence is unacceptable. We have to be clear that violence & hate are fueled by extreme MAGA right. My thoughts go out to @RepConnolly, the two dedicated staffers who were injured, his entire team and all of our staff in our offices,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) wrote.

The motivation of the assailant isn’t publicly known.

“District staff are true public servants who work hard every day to get our constituents the help they need. I’m appalled by this act of political violence and am sending healing thoughts to my colleague @GerryConnolly and his team,” Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) wrote.

“This is very, very scary. Sending my best wishes to @GerryConnolly and his team, with hopes for swift recoveries of his staffers who were injured in this violent attack. My thanks to the authorities working to keep everyone safe,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) wrote.

“I’m horrified by this attack on @GerryConnolly’s staff at their office in Fairfax. I’m thinking of their team, and I’m glad to hear that neither team member sustained life-threatening injuries,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) wrote.

This article was updated to include information on the suspect.