The man accused of shooting at Republican members of Congress this morning as they practiced at a ball field in Virginia for an upcoming charity baseball game, spent time in Iowa.
The Washington Post says 66-year-old James Hodgkinson campaigned for Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. Hodgkinson, who was shot dead by Capitol Police after opening fire Wednesday morning, was from Bellveille, Illinois (near St Louis).
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Roger Williams’ congressional aide Zack Barth, Tyson Foods director of government relations Matt Mika and two Capitol police officers were also injured in the incident. Hodgkinson was shot by Capitol Police and died from his injuries.
The Washington Post says Hodgkinson stayed with another Sanders supporter in the Quad Cites, after canvasing in Iowa.
According to the campaign’s records, he volunteered just a few times. Here’s what Robert Becker, the campaign’s Iowa state director, told The Washington Post:
Robert Becker, who served as the Iowa director of Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, said Hodgkinson had no formal role on the campaign and that he couldn’t find anyone who remembered him. “We had approximately 100 paid organizers on staff,” Becker said. “He was not one of them.”
Becker said ahead of the caucuses, about 10,000 people volunteered for Sanders at varying points.
“No one seems to remember this guy,” Becker said.