Man who attacked Minnesota congresswoman in her Washington house constructing will get 27-month sentence

WASHINGTON — A person who pleaded responsible to assaulting Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota within the elevator of her Washington house was sentenced to greater than two years behind bars Thursday.

Kendrid Khalil Hamlin, 27, apologized to Craig and stated he needs to get psychological well being and substance abuse therapy. He was sentenced to 27 months for the February assault.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg acknowledged Hamlin‘s difficult upbringing and “frequently unaddressed” mental illness was behind much of his behavior. Still, “some of this conduct has been extremely problematic,” he said.

Craig said Hamlin trapped her in the elevator, then grabbed her neck, slammed her against a steel wall and punched her before she fought him off by throwing her coffee at him. Afterward, she was targeted with death threats and forced to move amid public commentary about her assault, she said in court papers.

“While my physical recovery was days, my mental and emotional recovery has taken much longer and is ongoing,” she wrote.

Hamlin, for his part, decided to plead guilty quickly and wants to get treatment for his schizophrenia and substance abuse, his attorney Kathryn D’Adamo Guevara stated.

“I really do apologize to Angie Craig for putting my hands on her, and also the officers,” he stated. His mom and father additionally spoke tearfully to the choose, calling the assault “horrifying” and detailing their decades-long, unsuccessful efforts to get him efficient therapy, together with looking the streets for him whereas he was homeless.

Defense attorneys had requested for a sentence of a 12 months and a day with inpatient therapy, whereas prosecutors had pushed for 39 months. Boasberg stated he would advocate the sentence be served in a Bureau of Prisons medical facility.

Craig was getting espresso within the foyer of her constructing in February when she seen Hamlin pacing, police wrote in court docket papers. He got here into the elevator along with her and stated he wanted to go to the toilet and was coming into her house, the agent wrote.

After she stated he couldn’t, he punched her within the aspect of her face and grabbed her neck earlier than she escaped by throwing her cup of sizzling espresso over her shoulder at him, in response to court docket papers.

Hamlin had quite a few earlier convictions, together with for assaulting a police officer, prosecutors stated in court docket papers. There was no proof the assault was politically motivated, Craig’s chief of workers has stated.

Craig represents the suburban-to-rural 2nd District south of Minneapolis and St. Paul. She received a 3rd time period final 12 months for a hotly contested seat the GOP had hoped to flip in what was one of the crucial costly House races within the nation.