Harrisburg police.JPG

Harrisburg police are investigating the severe beating of a 35-year-old man who traveled to the capital city for a Bernie Sanders rally and voter registration rally. There is no evidence that the attack was political.

A 35-year-old Hanover man beaten over the weekend after leaving a Bernie Sanders rally remains unconscious, but opened his eyes for the first time Thursday, according to his mother.

Adam Jones suffered brain trauma in a 3 a.m. attack Sunday in the 2100 block of Logan Street and has remained at Hershey Medical Center. Doctors removed part of his skull to relieve brain swelling. The surgery on his skull and the wound in his head from the attacker required 100 staples to close, said his mother, Kathy Strasbaugh.

Adam Jones, taken Saturday.

Jones came to Harrisburg for the Sanders event, which started at 1 p.m. and continued into the early hours. Police won't say when he left the event or what he did in the meantime, other than to say he was looking for a private party when he was attacked about a mile and a half away from the event.

Someone apparently hit Jones with an object, once or twice, in an alley, Strasbaugh said. Police found several items in the alley that may have been used to strike him, but they have not told Strasbaugh if they have identified one of them as the weapon.

"He was definitely clocked with something," she said. "There wasn't any kind of fight that I'm aware of. It probably happened just out of the blue."

Police are releasing minimal details about the attack and his family said they, too, were instructed not to say much about the incident.

Strasbaugh said she thinks the police are doing a great job investigating the assault.

Jones was found early Sunday unconscious in the back seat of a vehicle with two people. Police have not said whether the people were friends of Jones or not.

Strasbaugh said she could not explain more about the two people because it could harm the investigation. She said she doesn't believe the attack had anything to do with politics.

Although Jones remains unconscious, he has been able to move his limbs and respond to commands, such as squeezing a relative's hand.

On Thursday, he twice opened his eyes when his mother and brother asked him to, Strasbaugh said. His eyes weren't focused, but he looked each time at the person giving the command.

"I'm just tickled today that he sort of looked at me," Strasbaugh said. "It's going to be a long journey, that we know."

Adam Jones' professional headshot

Jones was an aspiring actor, who had lived on both coasts: in Mendocino County in California and New York City. He moved back to Hanover in November to care for an ailing grandfather, who died last month.

More recently, Jones had been performing odd jobs and considering buying a food truck to park in Gettysburg, Strasbaugh said. He also was helping to care for his grandmother.

Strasbaugh described Jones, one of her four sons, as "kind of a hippy, a very free spirit, and as we can guess, too trusting."

Relatives are prepared for the long medical journey that will likely be necessary to get Jones back to where he was before the attack. But relatives are thankful that he survived and is showing positive progress every day.

"What he exhibits so far are very positive indications," Strasbaugh said. "He's further along than they expected him to be."