The man who assaulted Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) in an elevator at her Washington, D.C., apartment complex, as well as police officers earlier this year, received a prison sentence on Thursday.
A judge ordered Kendrid Hamlin, a 27-year-old homeless man with a lengthy rap sheet, to spend two years and three months behind bars followed by three years of supervised release in connection to the February incident, though local CBS affiliate WUSA9 noted he will receive credit for time served since his arrest.
Prosecutors had asked for a steeper sentence — 39 months in prison rather than the 27 months Hamlin received, followed by three years of supervised release — while citing Hamlin’s “extraordinary criminal history” after Hamlin pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress and law enforcement officers who detained him.
Craig says she witnessed Hamlin acting erratically in the lobby of her apartment building before he followed her into an elevator, punched her in the face, and grabbed her neck and slammed her against a steel wall. The congresswoman managed to escape by throwing her hot coffee at the man.
Hamlin was arrested shortly after the encounter. Court documents said Hamlin kicked one officer and bit a detective while they took him into custody.
Defense attorneys for Hamlin asked for a more lenient sentence of a year and a day with inpatient treatment, according to the Associated Press, as they cited their client’s struggles with drug addiction, homelessness, and schizophrenia. They read a statement from Hamlin apologizing to Craig, as well as the officers.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said much of Hamlin’s behavior could be attributed to a “very hard upbringing … compounded by very serious, unaddressed mental health” and drug abuse issues, but he emphasized the attack was “just the latest in a series of violent behavior and assaultive behavior,” per The Washington Post.
The judge indicated he would recommend Hamlin serve his sentence in a Bureau of Prisons medical facility and require him to seek out substance abuse and mental health treatment upon release.
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Craig, a three-term congresswoman, issued a victim impact statement that said she endured bruising, a cut lip, as well as several days of soreness and discomfort because of the attack. The House Democrat also shared how her mental and emotional recovery continues to this day.
In addition, Craig said she moved out of her apartment for security reasons after the address of her building got “doxed” by a media outlet. Craig also said that she and her staff have “received a flurry of additional targeted physical violence and death threats” following comments about the assault by media personalities.
Craig’s office has said there was “no evidence” that the attack was politically motivated.
The violent incident took place amid a spike in crime across the nation’s capital this year. Another member of the House, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), was carjacked at gunpoint last month.