FBI Under Scrutiny for Withholding Information on Baseball Game Shooting

The Intelligence News Committee released a report on Tuesday alleging that the FBI has concealed significant information regarding the 2017 Congressional Baseball Game shooting, suggesting that the shooter’s political motives were underestimated.

The report claims that, under former Director Andrew McCabe’s leadership, the FBI inaccurately classified details about the investigation that contradicted the official narrative of “suicide by cop.” It also notes that important witnesses and victims were not interviewed. Evidence indicates that James Hodgkinson, the shooter, was a leftwing extremist who planned the attack well in advance, even identifying a specific Republican target in a handwritten letter prior to the incident in Alexandria, Virginia, where he attacked GOP lawmakers during baseball practice.

Moreover, Hodgkinson is said to have made aggressive calls to lawmakers about the Republican Party and sent “angry” letters to various newspapers, as detailed in the report.

Committee chair Rick Crawford expressed concern, stating that the FBI had failed to adequately investigate a politically motivated attack that endangered many Republican members of Congress, their aides, and bystanders. He criticized the FBI’s lack of integrity in handling the investigation, deeming it unacceptable.

The report also points out that the FBI’s initial investigation reached the conclusion of “suicide by police” based on a limited analysis of Hodgkinson’s actions and communications. However, it appears the FBI suppressed critical evidence regarding his political motives, sharing only one letter while having access to several other documents outlining his intentions. In 2021, the FBI reconsidered its stance, labeling Hodgkinson’s actions as domestic extremism without taking into account new information on the matter.

Hodgkinson was known to be an ardent supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and expressed strong anti-Trump sentiments on social media. At the time, former Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi suggested that Republican rhetoric may have contributed to the shooting.

The FBI has not yet provided a comment in response to the report’s findings.