Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was assaulted Thursday morning in her Washington, D.C., apartment building, her office said.
The attack does not appear politically motivated, her chief of staff Nick Coe added.
The assault, which occurred in the building’s elevator around 7:15 a.m., left her bruised, according to a statement from Coe. The lawmaker called 911 and the assailant fled.
“Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay,” Coe said in a release, noting that “there is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated.”
According to a report filed with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Craig saw the assailant “acting erratic” and “as if he was under the influence of an unknown substance” in the lobby of her building and greeted him with a “good morning” before he followed her into the elevator and began “to randomly do push ups.”
The attacker hit Craig with a punch to the chin and grabbed her neck, according to the police report — and the congresswoman threw her hot coffee to defend herself before the assailant fled the scene.
Craig told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday that she was having “a bad morning,” but didn’t go into further detail.
Coe also said Craig is asking for privacy.
“To give you a sense of how strong @AngieCraigMN is, she went straight to the Hill this morning and attended a meeting in the Senate with the Governor and me and several members of our delegation about legislation for the people of her district,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on Twitter.
“No one messes with Angie,” the senator added.
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) called the incident “terrible” and praised Craig as a legislator.
“Violence is becoming all too common in our country, and it breaks my heart,” Clarke wrote on Twitter.
Craig’s chief of staff noted that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department was quick to respond to the scene. The Hill has reached out to MPD for more information.
This is a developing story. Mike Lillis contributed.
— Updated 3:30 p.m.