Congress shooting: Gunman volunteered for Sanders in Iowa

Kevin Hardy , Jason Noble | The Des Moines Register

An Illinois man who shot a congressman and four others in Virginia Wednesday visited Iowa as a supporter of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during the 2016 caucus campaign.

Shooter James T. Hodgkinson registered to attend Sanders campaign events in the Quad Cities area, campaign officials told The Des Moines Register.

Josh Miller-Lewis, Sanders' deputy communications director, said Hodgkinson signed up to host a Democratic primary debate watch party and registered in advance to attend three more volunteer events.

It's unclear how many of those events he ultimately attended, Miller-Lewis said.

In a statement, Sanders acknowledged reports of the shooter's connection to his campaign and said he was "sickened by this despicable act."

"Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society, and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms," Sanders, a senator from Vermont, said. "Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values."

Hodgkinson's connection to the Sanders campaign in Iowa initially was reported by the Washington Post.

However, Hodgkinson was not well-known to Sanders' staff in the state.

Robert Becker, Sanders' Iowa campaign director, said Hodgkinson was not a paid member of the campaign staff and it's unclear what kind of volunteer work he might have done in Iowa.

After the news broke Wednesday morning, Becker said campaign officials surveyed those who worked in the Quad Cities area leading up to the Feb. 1, 2016, Iowa caucuses.

"Nobody has a recollection of him," Becker said. "It doesn’t mean he didn’t come in and volunteer. But I can’t confirm one way or the other. Nobody remembers this guy."

Becker said Hodgkinson might have helped at a local field office or event, but it doesn't appear that he was actively involved in the campaign.

"Some people came in for one or two days; some people come for a month," he said. "He's not anyone that any of our field organizers remember."

Another top Iowa staffer for the campaign told The Des Moines Register Wednesday that he never met or heard of Hodgkinson.

"I never interacted with him on the campaign,” said Evan Burger, the deputy state director for Sanders’ Iowa campaign, who now works as an organizer at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement in Des Moines.

In the Post report, an acquaintance recalled canvassing for Sanders with Hodgkinson in Iowa and staying overnight with him at the home of a Sanders supporter in Rock Island, Ill., just across the Mississippi River.

It is not uncommon, particularly during the final days or weeks of a caucus campaign, for out-of-state supporters to come to Iowa to volunteer on behalf of a presidential candidate. Sanders' campaign attracted more than 10,000 volunteers to Iowa from 47 different states.

Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Ill., opened fire during a baseball practice for congressional Republicans in Virginia. Members and aides play in a charity baseball game each year.

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House Majority Whip, was shot in the hip in what witnesses described as a spray of rifle fire with as many as 50-60 rounds. A congressional aide, a lobbyist and two Capitol Police officers were also injured.

Hodgkinson was subsequently shot by police, and President Donald Trump later announced that he died of his injuries.

No members of Iowa's congressional delegation or staffers with their offices were present at the baseball practice during the shooting.

Most issued statements afterward, and U.S. Rep. Steve King, from Iowa's 4th District showed up at the crime scene on Wednesday where, according to the Washington Post, he blamed the violence on "the left."

“America has been divided,” King told the Post. “And the center of America is disappearing, and the violence is appearing in the streets, and it’s coming from the left.”

King added that he wouldn't be sad to learn the shooter had been killed.

“I’m really not that interested, to tell you the truth. If he were on his way to the morgue, it wouldn’t make me sorry at all," he said, according to the Post.

In an interview with the Register, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, said he was already at his office at the U.S. Capitol complex when he heard of the shootings at a park in Washington's Virginia suburbs.

All but the most senior members of Congress do their jobs without a permanent security detail. Scalise, as the No. 3 Republican in the House, receives 24-hour security from U.S. Capitol Police, and their response to Wednesday's shooting has widely been credited for saving lives.

Grassley said issues of security rarely come up while he's in Washington or back home in Iowa. It would be "awful," he added, if he had to travel with a security detail.

"It may sound like I’m not concerned about safety," he said. "I don’t think it crosses our mind as much as it should, and maybe I ought to be thinking about it more. But quite frankly I don’t, and life goes on."

The senator said interacting with constituents is a critical part of the job.

"I just have to continue to do it and not worry about it," Grassley said. "Otherwise, I better get out of politics."

What Iowa's delegation said:

My prayers are w my colleagues, congressional staff + Capitol police at GOP congressional baseball practice this morning — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) June 14, 2017

Please join me in praying for @stevescalise, Capitol Police and all those impacted at the congressional baseball practice this am. — Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) June 14, 2017

I and my staff are safe. Prayers for recovery of those injured today and for sanity in this fractured world. — David Young (@RepDavidYoung) June 14, 2017

Prayers for all injured at congressional baseball practice this morning. Grateful for Capitol Hill Police and first responders. — Congressman Rod Blum (@RepRodBlum) June 14, 2017

U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack issued a statement on his congressional website:

"I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear the news of this morning's shootings," Loebsack said. "My thoughts and prayers go to Congressman Scalise, the injured staffers and law enforcement officers who were hurt by this senseless act of violence."