A man from northern Virginia, Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, who attacked staff members at the district office of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly with a baseball bat, has been deemed not guilty by reason of insanity. This ruling was accepted by a Fairfax County judge on charges of malicious wounding and assault. The incident took place in May 2023, leading to the arrest of Pham, who injured two staffers, including a first-day intern struck in the ribs and another staffer repeatedly hit on the head.
Representing parts of northern Virginia, Democrat Gerry Connolly expressed his belief that Pham intended to cause him harm during the attack. Pham’s defense attorney, Dawn Butorac, revealed that Pham has been struggling with severe mental illness for many years and was not properly medicated at the time of the incident. Pham harbored delusions of government conspiracies and sought help from various government agencies because he believed he was being wrongfully detained.
Following the insanity plea, Pham will now receive treatment at a psychiatric hospital. In a statement, Connolly expressed his desire for Pham to receive the necessary help to prevent harm to himself or others. He highlighted the repercussions of provocative political rhetoric, emphasizing the importance of condemning hate speech and calls to violence. Connolly warned that a lack of civility and respect for differences could lead to more incidents similar to the one that occurred in May 2023.
