WASHINGTON - A man who allegedly attacked Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig in an elevator earlier this year has been indicted by a grand jury and is facing three criminal charges.
Kendrid Khalil Hamlin, who was 26 when he was arrested in February, is charged with assaulting a member of Congress and two counts of assaulting law enforcement, according to the indictment filed Thursday. He has no permanent address.
Hamlin has a long criminal history, and the attack on Craig is not thought to have been politically motivated. Hamlin and his federal public defenders have asked that he be released from jail pending trial and sent to a facility for inpatient treatment.
In a March court filing, Hamlin's defense team acknowledged that he apparently had missed court dates before this case. But they said it was also clear "that Mr. Hamlin has been experiencing both homelessness as well as mental health concerns which undoubtedly influenced his non-appearance."
"The proposed release plan would mitigate any concerns regarding flight risk," according to the filing, which added that Hamlin "is in need of intensive psychiatric support and substance abuse treatment, which is simply unavailable at the D.C. Jail."
Prosecutors oppose Hamlin's release because of what they described as "a serious risk" he will flee, according to one of their filings.
"Mr. Hamlin's long and unabated history of failing to appear for court hearings and committing additional offenses regardless of the level of supervision that he is under makes clear that there are no conditions or combination of conditions, including the proposed release into Samaritan Inns, that will ensure his appearance at future court hearings or protect the safety of any person or the community," the U.S. attorney's office said in a different filing earlier this week.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui has not yet ruled on whether Hamlin will continue to be held in jail pending trial. A hearing in the case is set for Wednesday.
