District of Columbia
Angie Craig attacker sentenced to 2 years in prison
Lesbian Minn. Democrat assaulted in D.C. apartment building in February
U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg on Thursday sentenced the man convicted of assaulting U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in an elevator at her D.C. apartment complex last February, to 27 months in a federal prison, 12 years less than asked for by Justice Department prosecutor Alexander Schneider.
In court documents, prosecutors stated that Kendrid Hamlin, a 27-year-old homeless man who suffers from schizophrenia, entered the building’s vestibule in the 300 block of H Street Northeast, at around 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2023.
Craig, a member of Congress who represents Minnesota, entered the lobby of the apartment complex, having just taken the elevator down from her apartment level. After getting coffee in the lobby of the apartment building, she noticed an unknown individual pacing in the lobby. She did not recognize the defendant but stated “good morning” to him. She noted he
was acting erratically.
As she got back into the elevator at around 7:10 a.m., Hamlin, who has a lengthy criminal record, forced his way in. In the court filing investigators stated:
Craig then pushed a button to stop the elevator from going up and told him words to the effect of “I’m sorry … you have to have an access card to come up past the lobby.” When she told him this, Hamlin dropped down on the elevator floor to do pushups. After doing approximately three or four pushups, Hamlin told Craig words to the effect of “I need to go to your apartment, take me to your apartment.”
In response, Craig told him, in a sterner voice, that he had to get off the elevator. At this, Hamlin became very agitated and came chest-to-chest with Craig. Then, he turned to jump in front of the elevator doors and the elevator buttons, blocking them. Hamlin then pushed Craig, and then immediately he took a closed fist and punched her in the jaw.
This punch caused Craig to fall back, being thrown off balance by the strike. At this point, Craig realized she needed to get out of the elevator to escape this violent situation. As she turned to try to access the buttons to open the elevator doors to escape, Hamlin took a position behind her and pulled her back from the elevator buttons.
While physically preventing Craig from opening the elevator doors, Hamlin placed his hands on her collarbone, on her neck area. As this assault was occurring, Craig threw her hot coffee over her shoulder, causing Hamlin to let go of her.
The doors at this point opened and as Craig broke free and started screaming for help Hamlin fled.
In a victim-impact statement submitted ahead of the hearing, Craig noted that the incident had left her with lasting damage to her mental and emotional health.
“My sense of safety and security has been significantly impacted. Following the attack, I have developed strategies with professional help to combat and address periodic anxiety. I have sought personal self-defense training,” Craig wrote.
She added she had to move from her Washington apartment following media coverage of the case that disclosed the building’s address and led to a “flurry” of death threats against her and her staff.
During the sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors argued, “In addition to his convictions for violent conduct, he has at least nine prior additional arrests for violent or threatening conduct … the defendant’s actions have also shown that he is unwilling to abide by conditions of release, justifying the need for a significant sentence to incarceration.”
The assault on Craig was a one of a series of violent attacks against lawmakers, congressional aides, or family members in the past year. An assailant armed with a metal baseball-style bat charged into the office of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) this past May.
CNN reported that a jury on Thursday found David DePape guilty on two counts in the violent attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), last year in the couple’s San Francisco home.
DePape was convicted in federal court of one count of assault on the immediate family member of a federal official, with the jury determining that he used a dangerous weapon, and a second count of attempted kidnapping of a federal official. He could face a maximum sentence of 30 years and 20 years on the charges, respectively.
District of Columbia
Norton reintroduces bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ jurors in D.C. Superior Court
Congresswoman notes Congress controls local court system
D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on Friday, June 20, reintroduced her bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ D.C. residents in the process for selecting people to serve as jurors in D.C. Superior Court.
“The bill would clarify that D.C. residents may not be excluded or disqualified from jury service in the local D.C. trial court, the D.C. Superior Court, based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Norton said in a statement.
“Specifically, this bill would clarify that the term ‘sex,’ which is a protected class under the nondiscrimination law that applies to jurors in the D.C. Superior Court includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” Norton said.
She points out in her statement that under the D.C. Home Rule Act approved by Congress that created D.C.’s local government, including an elected mayor and City Council, the federal government retained control over the local court system.
“Therefore, until D.C. is given authority to amend Title 11 of the D.C. Code, which one of my bills would do, an act of Congress is required to clarify that LGBTQ+ jurors in the D.C. Superior Court are protected from discrimination,” according to her statement.
A spokesperson for Norton couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether Norton is aware of specific instances where residents were denied jury service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Online records of congressional action on Norton’s juror nondiscrimination bill show she had introduced it in 2019, 2021, and 2023, when it died in committee each year, except for the 117th Congress in 2022, when it was approved by a committee but died in the full House.
“During Pride month we are reminded of the many contributions of the LGBTQ+ community,” Norton said in her June 20 statement. “Nobody, including D.C. jurors, should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and D.C. juries should not be deprived of the service of LGBTQ residents,” she added.
District of Columbia
Juvenile arrested for anti-gay assault in D.C.
Police say suspect targeted victim in house with Pride flags
D.C. police announced on June 16 that they have arrested a 13-year-old juvenile male on a charge of Assault With Significant Bodily Injury for allegedly throwing a rock through the window of a house in Northeast D.C. and “striking the victim in the face.”
In a statement announcing the arrest, police said the incident took place on Friday, June 6, and “LGBTQ+ flags were displayed at the front of the home.”
A separate D.C. police incident report obtained by the Washington Blade states, “Victim 1 reports he was sitting in his living room at the listed location watching television when a rock came through the front window and struck him about his left eye. Victim 1 suffered a laceration under his left eye.”
The report adds, “Victim 1 states he observed Suspect 1 running away.”
According to the June 16 statement issued by police, “On Sunday, June 15, 2025, officers located the suspect and placed him under arrest. [A] 13-year-old juvenile male of Northeast D.C., was charged with Assault With Significant Bodily Injury (Hate/Bias).”
The statement says the house where the incident occurred is located on the 400 block of 20th Street, N.E.
Similar to statements D.C. police have issued regarding LGBTQ bias-related cases in the past, the statement announcing this case says that while the case is being investigated as being potentially motivated by hate or bias, that designation could be changed at any time during the investigation.
It adds that a hate crime designation by D.C. police may not be prosecuted as a hate crime by prosecutors. Under D.C. law, juvenile cases are prosecuted by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General.
Since court records for cases involving juveniles are sealed from public access, the Blade could not immediately determine whether prosecutors designated the case as a hate crime.
It also could not immediately be determined if the juvenile charged in the case was being held in detention while awaiting trial at juvenile court or whether he was released to a parent or guardian and whether a judge set any conditions for release.
The police statement concludes by saying that the department’s Special Liaison Branch, which includes the LGBT Liaison Unit, is assisting with the investigation.
District of Columbia
Drive with Pride in D.C.
A new Pride-themed license plate is now available in the District, with proceeds directly benefiting local LGBTQ organizations.
Just in time for Pride month, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has partnered with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to create a special “Pride Lives Here” license plate.
The plate, which was initially unveiled in February, has a one-time $25 application fee and a $20 annual display fee. Both fees will go directly to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Affairs Fund.
The MOLGBTQA Fund provides $1,000,000 annually to 25,000 residents through its grant program, funding a slew of LGBTQ organizations in the DMV area — including Capital Pride Alliance, Whitman-Walker, the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Community, and the Washington Blade Foundation.
The license plate features an inclusive rainbow flag wrapping around the license numbers, with silver stars in the background — a tribute to both D.C.’s robust queer community and the resilience the LGBTQ community has shown.
The “Pride Lives Here” plate is one of only 13 specialty plates offered in the District, and the only one whose fees go directly to the LGBTQ community.
To apply for a Pride plate, visit the DC DMV’s website at https://dmv.dc.gov/
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