Suspect arrested in attack on Rep. Craig, police say she threw hot coffee on assailant to escape

Police have made an arrest in the assault Thursday morning of Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig in an elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment building.

The city's Metropolitan Police Department says that hours after the attack, blocks from Capitol Hill, police arrested and charged Kendrick Hamlin, 26, for simple assault for allegedly attacking Craig.

The congresswoman's office released a statement earlier in the day saying the incident occurred at about 7:10 a.m. and that Craig defended herself from the attacker and was bruised from the assault but otherwise was physically OK. 

The office also said there is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated.

Police said the person charged also goes by the name Hamlin Khalil Hamlin and has no fixed address. 

The alleged assailant followed Craig into the elevator, then grabbed her neck and punched her on the chin before she threw the hot coffee on him, escaped and called authorities, according to multiple news outlets, citing a police report.