For years, the FBI misled the public by classifying the 2017 congressional baseball shooting, which nearly killed pro-life House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, as a “suicide by cop” rather than an act of domestic terrorism
That’s the report the House Intelligence Committee revealed Tuesday. The findings expose what Republicans call a politically motivated cover-up by the bureau under then-Acting Director Andrew McCabe.
On June 14, 2017, James Hodgkinson, a left-wing activist and fervent supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, opened fire on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game in Alexandria, Virginia. Hodgkinson, who had posted anti-Trump vitriol online and carried a hit list of GOP congressmen, asked if the players were Republicans before unleashing a barrage of bullets. Scalise was gravely wounded, nearly bleeding to death, while lobbyist Matt Mika and two Capitol Police officers were also injured.
Later evidence showed the shooter wanted to target and kill other pro-life Republicans.
Despite clear evidence of political motivation, the FBI, led by McCabe, insisted the attack was not terrorism but an attempt by Hodgkinson to provoke his own death at the hands of police. This designation, Republicans argue, downplayed the shooter’s ideological hatred for conservatives and shielded the left from scrutiny.
“Whatever its political purpose, the FBI’s starting position was that the shooter was suicidal, hoping to die by gunfire with police. It appears to the Committee that investigative efforts and intelligence analysis then attempted to reinforce the ‘suicide by cop’ argument despite the clear and contrary facts of the case,” the new House report concludes.
The House Intelligence Committee report, spearheaded by Republicans, found that the FBI’s initial classification was influenced by internal politics, though Democrats on the committee disputed this claim. The report highlights that both the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence labeled the attack as domestic violent extremism, in stark contrast to the FBI’s stance.
It wasn’t until 2021, after relentless pressure from GOP lawmakers, that the FBI reclassified the shooting as domestic terrorism, admitting Hodgkinson was a “domestic violent extremist” targeting Republicans. The reversal came quietly, buried in a report appendix, with no public apology or explanation for the years of obfuscation.
Scalise, who endured multiple surgeries and months of recovery, slammed the FBI’s handling of the case.
“This report definitively shows the FBI completely mishandled the investigation into the Congressional baseball shooting of 2017 – ignoring crucial and obvious facts in order to sell a false narrative that the shooting was not politically motivated. I want to thank FBI Director Kash Patel, Chairman Rick Crawford, and the staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for finally getting to the truth of the matter: this was a deliberate and planned act of domestic terrorism toward Republican Members of Congress.
“I encourage Director Patel to adopt the recommendations of the Committee to ensure the intelligence community is rid of bias and to identify who was responsible for the misleading and incorrect conclusions and why, and ensure the FBI gets back to its mission of following the facts, wherever they may lead.”
https://www.lifenews.com/2025/05/06/fbi-lied-to-americans-by-denying-leftist-shooting-of-pro-life-rep-steve-scalise-was-domestic-terrorism/