Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, former Commercial Appeal reporter, assaulted at Washington apartment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was assaulted in her Washington apartment building on Thursday, suffering bruises while escaping serious injury in an attack that did not appear to be politically motivated, her chief of staff said.

Craig was assaulted in the elevator at about 7:15 a.m., called 911 and the assailant fled, Nick Coe said in a statement.

"Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay," he added. "There is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated."

The attack followed an assault on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home in October by a man who told police his motive was political and that his intended target was the speaker.

More:Meet the former Commercial Appeal reporter who's now in Congress

Members of Congress have faced a sharp rise in threats since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. Capitol Police investigated nearly 10,000 threats to members last year, more than twice the number from four years earlier.

Craig won a third term in November in the suburban-to-rural 2nd District south of Minneapolis and St. Paul in one of the most expensive House races in the country, frustrating the GOP's best hope of flipping a Minnesota seat in an election that gave Republicans a narrow House majority.

Coe said Craig is grateful for the quick response from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department and has asked for privacy.

On Twitter, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, said he was "disturbed to hear my colleague and friend" and "Minnesota's first openly gay representative was attacked at her building.

"While the motive is unclear, violence has no place in our politics or any community. I wish her a speedy recovery," Cohen said.

Craig was born in West Helena, Arkansas, but spent most of her childhood in trailer  homes in Gosnell and Jonesboro, where she was a graduate of Nettleton High School.

Moving across the river to Memphis, she earned a journalism degree and a served as editor of the campus newspaper, The Daily Helmsman, at what was then known as Memphis State University.

In total, Craig spent 11 years in Memphis, working for much of that time as an intern, part-time reporter and finally full-time reporter at The Commercial Appeal. Her beats included DeSoto County.

Commercial Appeal reporter John Beifuss contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig assaulted at Washington apartment