Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was assaulted in the elevator of her apartment building in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning. The assailant was arrested Thursday night. The 26-year-old homeless man was charged with simple assault.

I’m sure the physical attack feels like anything but simple to the congresswoman. The man followed her into the elevator Thursday morning at about 7:10 a.m. Fortunately, she was able to defend herself and the attacker fled the scene.

According to a police report, Craig told authorities that her assailant had followed her into the elevator, punched her “with a closed fist” and grabbed her neck. She defended herself by “tossing her hot coffee” at him, the report stated.

The Minnesota congresswoman’s chief of staff, Nick Coe, said in a statement earlier Thursday that “Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay.”

He added that the assailant fled the scene and there was “no evidence” that the incident was politically motivated.

I’m glad she’s going to be ok. It’s horrifying that a woman gets in an elevator in her apartment building at 7:00 a.m., obviously just heading out to work, and she’s physically attacked. It’s a good thing she had hot coffee to throw on him and distract him from the assault. Crime is out of control in America’s cities and that includes the connection to homelessness. A lot of the homeless population suffers from mental health issues and addiction issues. Was this young man, identified as Hamlin Khalil Hamlin, looking to rob the congresswoman? Sexually assault her? Just angry at the world and took it out on her? Who knows? He’ll be back out on the street in no time if he isn’t already.

Craig called 911 and now there has been an arrest. Ironically, she returned to vote on a GOP resolution disapproving of a revised D.C. criminal code. She voted with Republicans in favor of disapproving the revision. Progressive Democrats in D.C. Council passed the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 last November. It allegedly modernizes and overhauls D.C.’s criminal laws. The mayor vetoed the bill but the Council overrode the Executive veto. Now D.C. Council members want lawmakers in Congress to butt out of their business. Too bad, so sad. Someone has got to stop the crazy.

Over the past several months, residents and partners in the public safety and criminal justice community expressed concerns about some provisions in the updated code, including lower penalties for certain crimes. The updated code would expand eligibility for the Second Look Act from youthful, convicted violent offenders to people of all ages; it would also expand the right to a jury trial for those charged with misdemeanors but facing jail time, which is expected to exacerbate the already stretched capacity of the court system; and it would reduce maximum criminal penalties for violent crimes like carjacking and robberies.

Fortunately, sometimes progressives go too far and other Democrats see it. The vote in the House on Thursday was a bipartisan one. Naturally, lawmakers like Eleanor Holmes Norton see it as an overreach for Congress to provide oversight on D.C. business, though it is their responsibility. There is also the charge of racism.

The votes deal a blow to local officials who implored members of Congress to stay out of the city’s affairs, although it is exactly the type of interference they had been bracing for after the GOP took control of the House this year. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the District’s nonvoting representative, said there is “never justification for Congress nullifying legislation enacted by the District.”

“I can only conclude that the Republican leadership believes D.C. residents, the majority of whom are Black and Brown, are unworthy or uncapable of governing themselves,” she said on the floor.

Talk to Rep. Craig, Ms. Norton. Maybe she can enlighten you. The solution to a rise in crime isn’t to loosen the severity of sentences or to just determine that some crimes don’t even deserve charges. That attitude emboldens criminals.

Crime is down in D.C. a little. However, there were still more than 200 murders in 2022, the second year in a row. Plus, robberies were up 2%, car thefts up 8%, and carjackings up 14%, the very crimes for which the Council seeks to lessen the penalties.

As I said, I’m glad the congresswoman is ok. It doesn’t matter which political party she represents. She shouldn’t have to worry when she steps into an elevator in her apartment building. She will have the advantage of extra security now, though, that others living in her building will not.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the attack, saying in a statement that “the House Democratic Caucus family is horrified” by what happened. “We are all very grateful that she is safe and recovering, but appalled that this terrifying assault took place.”

Jeffries said that he has asked the House sergeant at arms and the US Capitol Police to work “to ensure that Angie and her family are safe while in our nation’s capital and at home in Minnesota.”

Craig’s office said she planned to vote against the D.C. revision of its criminal code before she was assaulted Thursday morning.