DISTURBED

Bat-Wielding Man Who Attacked Dem Rep’s Office Refuses to Appear in Court

Xuan-Kha Tran Pham hid under a blanket in his cell while the judge carried out his arraignment over video.

The man who allegedly stormed the office of Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly with a baseball bat and hospitalized two of his staffers refused to appear in court Tuesday—forcing the judge to instead arraign him over a video call while he cowered under a blanket in his cell, according to the Martinsville Bulletin. In addition to several charges relating to his assault of the staffers, the 49-year-old man, Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, now faces hate crime charges for chasing a woman and damaging her car, the Bulletin reported. In that encounter, Pham allegedly approached the woman’s car and asked if she was white before bringing a baseball bat down on her windshield. Pham reportedly has a history of mental illness, but what exactly drove him to seek out Connolly’s office remains unclear.