The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Saturday that they would change the designation of the Congressional Baseball Team shooting that injured Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., to “domestic terrorism.”
The FBI sparked outrage amongst Republicans when news broke the federal law enforcement agency had classified the shooting as a “suicide by cop” when evidence clearly suggested otherwise.
“It seems very odd that the FBI reports would come to that conclusion when everybody else that looked at it clearly recognized that it was an act of domestic terrorism,” Scalise told Fox News. “We’re asking Director Wray to go and re-evaluate the classification but also to look into why they came to that conclusion. He wasn’t the director when that determination was made, but we’re very curious to know why someone made a determination that far off base.”
A lone gunman opened fire at the Republican team’s practice in June of 2017. He was later found to be a staunch supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and strongly anti-Trump.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, who was awarded the Soldier’s Medal by the Army for saving Rep. Scalise’s life, sent a letter with other Republicans to the FBI last week.
The letter demanded answers as to why the Republican lawmaker’s near fatal incident received an incorrect designation.
“We fear that the FBI’s inability or unwillingness to fully investigate this shooting as a matter of domestic extremism four years ago leaves a blind spot within the Bureau in fully assessing risks we face today,” the letter reads. “The FBI telling us that James Hodgkinson’s attempt to assassinate dozens of Members of Congress was simply “suicide by cop” does nothing to alleviate this concern.”
Once the update was made, Rep. Wenstrup celebrated the decision.
“Our intelligence and law enforcement apparatuses require accuracy, precision, and justice. I’m encouraged that the FBI has updated its classification of that nearly catastrophic event to reflect the actual motives of the assailant, and I commend Director Wray for his oversight of that correction,” said Rep. Wenstrup. “I will continue to work with the Bureau toward investigating what led to the original ‘suicide by cop’ determination.”
