FBI reclassifies 2017 congressional baseball shooting as incident of domestic terrorism

May 16, 2021 Carley Shaffer US 0

TOPSHOT – People cheer during the Congressional Baseball Game between Democrats and Republicans at Nationals Stadium June 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

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UPDATED 4:05 PM PT – Sunday, May 16, 2021

The FBI has updated it’s classification of the 2017 congressional baseball shooting. The catastrophic event where gunman James Hodgkinson fired more than 100 rounds at congressmen, their aides and others present on June 14, 2017 is now labeled as an incident of domestic terrorism.

The FBI-DHS report released on Friday, showed the shooting in Virginia was now placed in a section that covered significant domestic terrorism incidents that occurred in the U.S. from 2015 to 2019.

Hodgkinson shot Rep. Stephen Scalise (R-La.) in the hip, hit lobbyist Matt Mika in the chest and injured two U.S. Capitol Police officers, Crystal Griner and David Bailey. Scalise was left in critical condition and required a great deal of recovery before his return to Congress.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA) makes a play to first base resulting in an out after fielding a ground ball on the first pitch of the Congressional Baseball Game on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. Scalise was shot during a team practice before last years game. This is the 57th annual game between the Republicans and Democrats. (Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 14: Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA) makes a play to first base at the Congressional Baseball Game on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. Scalise was shot during a team practice before last years game. (Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

Prior to his attempt at destruction, Hodgkinson reportedly asked GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan if the remaining players on the field were Republicans or Democrats. Therefore, Hodgkinson who is now deceased will be referenced to as a domestic violent extremist who had a personalized violent ideology targeting GOP lawmakers.

This comes after Republicans had criticized the agency for initially theorizing the incident as “suicide by cop”. A U.S. House representative then insisted FBI Director Christopher Wray investigate the origins of that report.