Staffer for GOP lawmaker attacked at gunpoint after congressional baseball game

A staffer for Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.) was attacked Thursday at gunpoint outside his home, located blocks from the U.S. Capitol building, after the annual charitable Congressional Baseball Game.

In a statement Friday, Finstad said the staffer experienced minor physical injuries and will be able to make a full recovery.

“Following Wednesday’s Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, one of my staffers was attacked outside of his residence by an armed gunman,” Finstad said in a statement. “Thankfully, he will be able to make a full recovery and the extent of his physical injuries was minor. I thank the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their quick response and their attention to this incident.”

The United States Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department both confirmed the incident in statements to The Hill. MPD was called after the incident and responded.

“At this time, there is no indication that the Staffer was targeted, however the case is under investigation by MPD,” a USCP spokesperson said in a statement.

The offense took place early Thursday, beginning at 3:08 a.m., according to the MPD public incident report. The staffer told MPD that “while walking home two males wearing black hoodies pushed him to the ground and pointed a black hand gun at him,” according to the report.

The staffer told police in the report that he “ran away” from the suspects, “not giving them any of his belongings.”

In his statement, Finstad attacked crime laws in D.C. and other cities, which he claimed, “have created lawless societies that endanger the public and empower criminal behavior.”

He added, “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.”

Violent crime in the district has been on the rise in recent months. In a year-to-date data comparison, violent crime is up 21 percent in 2023, compared with violent crime data collected at the same point in 2022. Property crime is up 29 percent in 2023, and total crime is up 28 percent, in the same comparison.

In a year-end comparison, crime in D.C. was down slightly in 2022, compared with 2021 data. Violent crime was down 7 percent, and property crime was down 3 percent, bringing total crime down 4 percent in 2022.

– Updated June 16 at 4:30 p.m.

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