A man suspected of attacking a congresswoman in the lift of her Washington DC apartment building on Thursday has been arrested, police say.
Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, fought back by throwing hot coffee at the assailant, a police report says.
Kendrick Hamlin is accused of punching her and grabbing her neck.
The 26-year-old, of no fixed address, has been charged with simple assault. The case is not thought to be politically motivated.
Elected to Congress in 2018, Ms Craig, 50, is a mother-of-four and serves as co-chairwoman of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
She was attacked at around 07:10 local time (12:10 GMT) on Thursday, police say.
Her chief of staff Nick Coe said in a statement that she “defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay”.
She called 911 emergency services and the “assailant fled the scene”.
He said Ms Craig thanked DC Metropolitan Police Department “for their quick response and asks for privacy at this time”.
According to a public incident report from the Metropolitan Police Department, Ms Craig told investigators that there was a person acting erratically and possibly under the influence of drugs in the lobby of her apartment building in the busy H Street area near Capitol Hill. (BBC)
