US Judge orders the release of Rep. Angie Craig’s suspected attacker to hospital 

A federal judge ruled earlier this week that the man suspected of attacking Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in her Washington, DC, apartment building should be released from jail and enter a hospital inpatient treatment program.

During a detention hearing on Wednesday, US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ordered that Kendrick Hamlin be released, against the wishes of prosecutors, pending confirmation from another judge later this month, the Washington Post reported.

“To say this is a close call is not doing it justice. This is an extremely close call,” Faruqui said. 

The confirmation hearing to approve Hamlin’s release is scheduled for April 18. 

Hamlin allegedly punched Craig in the chin and grabbed her by the shoulder and collarbone during the Feb. 9 early morning attack, which took place in the lobby elevator of her apartment building.

The congresswoman only escaped the attack after tossing her hot coffee at the suspect.

Craig, 50, a third-term House member, told officers that her attacker appeared to be affected by an unknown substance and was acting erratically in the lobby before he followed her into the elevator.

Authorities say that Hamlin kicked an officer and bit a detective as they tried to apprehend him. 

Prosecutors on Wednesday argued that Hamlin should remain in jail because he has already been issued 25 bench warrants for missing court appearances in other cases and the hospital where Hamlin would be transferred does not have enough security to keep him from walking out, according to the Washington Post.

Faruqui said he only needs to have “reasonable assurance” that Hamlin will make his next court date, but he stayed his decision only after a prosecutor announced that the ruling would be appealed. 

Hamlin spoke at Wednesday’s hearing and said he wanted to “get myself together,” “mentally, physically and emotionally.” 

In court documents, Hamlin’s defense team described him as “a man suffering from mental illness and homelessness who needs treatment, not incarceration.”

In February, Craig told CBS News that tougher penalties are needed to keep people with long histories of violent assaults, such as Hamlin, off the street.  

“I was assault No. 13 on his record,” Craig told CBS News. “And I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure there’s not a 14, a 15, a 20.”

“If you throw somebody in jail for 10 days and think, ‘There’s your punishment, and we’re gonna let you right back on the street,’ what the hell do you think’s gonna happen?” she added.