A political action committee run by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Monday blamed soft-on-crime leaders and prosecutors in Washington for a GOP congressional staffer’s assault at gunpoint last week.
The Protecting Americans Action Fund said the attack on the staffer outside the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game was a symptom of unchecked violent crime under city leaders.
“Soft-on-crime prosecutors and leaders are responsible for this uptick in violence when they should be prioritizing the safety of their communities,” former New York Rep. John Faso, a member of the PAC’s board, said in a statement.
He warned that the city’s “far-left liberal leaders” have not taken steps to protect elected officials, staff and tourists from criminals in the District.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, did not respond to a request for comment.
Protecting Americans Action Fund was formed to help elect conservative prosecutors across the country and counter the efforts of groups linked to billionaire activist George Soros to elect liberal prosecutors.
Mr. Miyares serves as the group’s chairman. Former Attorney General William Barr joined the group as a board member in April.
The action fund weighed in on the Districts crime wave after a staffer for Rep. Brad Finstad, Minnesota Republican, was assaulted at gunpoint after the charity game at Nationals Park.
The staffer was walking home around 3 a.m. on June 15 when two men wearing black hoodies pushed him to the ground and pointed a handgun at him.
He told police that he ran away from the attackers without surrendering any of his belongings, according to the police report.
Mr. Finstad said the staffer had minor physical injuries and would make a full recovery. He also said that anti-police and soft-on-crime policies in Washington and around the country have empowered criminal behavior.
“It’s time we started treating criminals like criminals and bring back commonsense policies that imprison career criminals, keep the public safe, and allow our police officers to adequately protect our communities and keep violent criminals off the streets,” he said Friday in a statement.
Violent crimes increased by 21% since last year in the District, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department. Overall crime, which includes multiple varieties of violent and property crimes, increased by 28%.
The assault on the staffer was not the first instance of violent crimes against Capitol Hill lawmakers and staff this year.
An aide for Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, was stabbed in the city in March. District resident and ex-con Glynn Neal, 42, was arrested and charged with assault with intent to kill following the attack.
In another case, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was assaulted in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building in February. Kendrid Khalil Hamlin, 27, pleaded guilty in June to assaulting a member of Congress. He also pled guilty to assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department detective and officer on the same day.