NEW ORLEANS – The man who opened fire on a Congressional baseball practice this morning, seriously injuring Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four other people, was part of the Occupy St. Louis movement six years ago.
Our sister station at Fox2 News in St. Louis interviewed 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson about the Occupy St. Louis movement in 2011.
“The 99 percent are getting pushed around, and the one percent are just not giving a damn,” Hodgkinson said in the interview. “So, we’ve got to speak up for the whole country.”
Police believe Hodgkinson opened fire on a practice session for tomorrow’s annual Congressional Baseball Game this morning.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip as he stood near second base.
Sen. Jeff Flake said Scalise crawled into the outfield after being shot.
“We could see Steve Scalise out in the field,” Flake said. “He dragged himself, after he was shot, from near second base about 10 or 15 yards into the field, just to be, I think, a little further away from the gunman. He was lying motionless out there. ”
President Trump announced this afternoon that Hodgkinson died not long after he was shot by Capitol Police and other security personnel.
Scalise was rushed to surgery and is said to be in critical condition.
In addition to being active in the Occupy St. Louis movement, Hodgkinson also volunteered for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
“I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign,” Sanders said. “I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be: Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values.”