By Steve Neavling
House Republicans are accusing the FBI of downplaying the 2017 congressional baseball shooting by initially classifying it as “suicide by cop,” rather than a politically motivated act.
The allegation is part of a new report released Tuesday by the House Intelligence Committee, which includes FBI records made public earlier this year by Director Kash Patel, Politico reports. Committee Chair Rick Crawford, R-Ark., said the bureau showed “a complete disregard and lack of investigative integrity” in how it handled the case.
In November 2017, months after the shooting, the FBI briefed lawmakers that it had concluded the gunman, 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, had no clear political motive and instead sought to be killed by law enforcement. That briefing angered Republicans, especially since Hodgkinson had posted anti-Trump messages online before traveling from Illinois to Washington, D.C., where he opened fire on GOP lawmakers practicing for the annual congressional baseball game.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was seriously wounded in the attack, along with a Capitol Police officer and two others. Hodgkinson was killed at the scene by police.
Republicans say the FBI’s conclusion ignored clear signs of political intent and was part of a broader pattern of bias. “This was used to mislead and influence public opinion,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas.
In 2021, FBI official Jill Sanborn told Congress the agency now considers the shooting “something that we would today characterize as a domestic terrorism event.”
