A Fairfax, Virginia man facing federal charges for assaulting two congressional staffers in a Virginia office with a baseball bat in May was expected in court on Monday, but is currently undergoing a competency evaluation.
Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, 49, was arraigned on May 16 on four counts, including aggravated wounding and malicious aggravated wounding, in the attack at the office of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va, in Fairfax, and counts of felony destroying property and misdemeanor hate crime for an episode earlier that day when police said he hit a car windshield with a bat and chased a woman after asking if she was white.
Two days later, Pham was charged in federal court with assaulting federal employees.
As part of the initial arraignment on May 16, a judge ordered Pham be held without bond pending a preliminary hearing in July.
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FOX 5 in Washington, D.C. reported that Pham had a scheduled court date in Alexandria, Virginia on Monday, but because of an ongoing competency evaluation, the court date was moved back.
An FBI affidavit alleges the suspect burst through the front door of Connolly’s office and immediately hit his outreach director in the head.
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As he continued to hit the woman, an intern on the job attempted to run away when Pham hit her in the ribs, according to the affidavit.
The suspect is then accused of going back to assaulting the outreach director, threatening to kill her.
The outreach director estimated Pham hit her about eight times.
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One witness told investigators Pham was calling for "Gerry" and wanted to talk to Connolly, who was not at the Fairfax office at the time.
Pham, the affidavit continued, called the district office three times in February, though the staffer who spoke with him said his words were "gibberish about DNA and God."
Pham’s father told the Washington Post his son suffers from schizophrenia.
The attack was not Pham’s first time being arrested.
Last year, he was charged in Fairfax County with assaulting a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, though the charges were dropped because Pham experienced a mental health crisis at the time of his arrest. He also complied with a requirement to seek treatment.
Pham also sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), claiming the agency tortured him "from the fourth dimension."
Prior to the attack at Connolly’s office, Pham allegedly attacked a woman with a bat, hit her windshield, and asked if she was white. Pham was charged with a hate crime in the incident.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
