Richard Ringer, a Democrat running for a seat in Pennsylvania’s House, was assaulted at his home on Monday morning.
Ringer is attempting to unseat Rep. Matt Dowling (R) in next week’s election.
Police report the attack occurred at approximately 5 a.m. when Ringer approached two men attempting to break into his garage.
The Democratic candidate reportedly has received multiple threats recently. Ringer reported that recent threats included a brick through a residence window and a message on his garage door stating, “Your race is dead.”
Police report that it is not clear if Monday’s attack is related to the previous threats Ringer has received.
Ringer reports that when he was preparing to leave his home on Monday morning, he encountered a man with a flashlight.
Ringer recalled what happened to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saying that when he approached the man attempting to break into his garage, the man “pinned me down on my left side. I’m right-handed and he had my right arm pulled back and he hit me 10 to 12 times in the head, in the face and by the eye and he knocked me out.”
Ringer said he could not provide officers with a good description of the suspect.
The Daily Mail reports that Ringer’s wounds were superficial and that he “didn’t need medical assistance.”
Suggesting the assault could be a targeted and politically motivated crime, Ringer told WTAE News: “My neighborhood is safe. It’s calm, and there’s no crime whatsoever. If you just try to connect the dots, maybe. But I can’t say definitively.”
News of Ringer’s assault comes just days after Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reported being assaulted in his home in San Francisco.
San Francisco Police arrested the assailant and charged him with multiple felonies.
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