Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), was carjacked Monday night in Washington, D.C., about a mile from the U.S. Capitol. Cueller was carjacked in the Navy Yard area of Southeast Washington by robbers who took his vehicle and his luggage, the Washington Post reports. Police said that at least one of the carjackers had a gun. Dozens of lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, live in apartment and condominium buildings within a block of Monday’s attack. An aide to Cuellar said that as the congressman was parking, “three armed assailants approached and stole” the vehicle. The congressman was unharmed,.
An aide to Cuellar said his car was recovered. Cuellar, 68, is in his 10th term in the House, representing a South Texas district that includes Laredo and San Antonio. This year, he joined Republicans in blocking D.C.’s criminal code revision legislation. The House vote occurred the same day that Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was assaulted in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building. She fought off her attacker by tossing hot coffee at him in an incident that her office said did not appear to be politically motivated. Washington has been struggling with a rise in crime since the pandemic, including a surge in car thefts and murders. D.C. has passed 200 homicides for the year, putting it on pace for a total not seen in decades. The number of car thefts has more than doubled this year so far, reports the Wall Street Journal.