Man arrested in attack on Connecticut lawmaker after Eid prayer service

A man was arrested Thursday in connection with an assault on a Connecticut state lawmaker, the first Muslim elected to the Connecticut House of Representativess, after an Eid al-Adha prayer service the day before, according to the Hartford Police Department and Hartford Mayor’s Office.

Representative Maryam Khan, a Democrat, suffered minor injuries in the attack, according to police and several local officials.

The man, Andrey Desmond, 30, of New Britain, Conn., was charged with unlawful restraint, assault, breach of the peace and interference with police. He was transferred to the Hartford Police Department’s Detention Unit for processing and was scheduled to face charges Thursday.

Desmond was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and has a long history of psychiatric hospitalizations and inpatient stays in New York City and Connecticut, according to records and interviews with Mr. Desmond. He was released from Rikers Island in 2019 and has been living in an assisted living facility in the Bronx. He returned to Connecticut in May.

The attack came after an Eid al-Adha prayer hosted by the Islamic Center of Connecticut and held at the XL Center, an arena and conference center. Similar events have taken place at the facility, including an Eid al-Fitr prayer service a few months ago, according to Akash Kaza, a spokesman for the city of Hartford.

Ms Khan was leaving the XL Center with her family when she was attacked, according to police and Mr Kaza. A man, later identified by police as Mr Desmond, “began making unwanted advances,” police said. He then tried to dissuade Ms. Khan from leaving the event and attacked her.

After the attack, Mr Desmond tried to run away, police said, but bystanders chased and detained him until authorities arrived just after 11am.

Ms Khan was not available for comment, her press assistant, Jackson DeLaney, said.

While police did not confirm a motive for the attack, the timing of the incident and the fact that Ms. Khan wears a hijab led some colleagues and advocacy groups to condemn anti-Muslim attacks and calls for better protection of Connecticut’s Muslims during Eid celebrations.

Farhan Memon, the president of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, urged local, state and federal officials to investigate whether the attack was motivated by hate, according to a statement. online statement of the Organization for Civil Rights and Advocacy of Muslims.

Although there was a security detail during the event, according to police, the attack on Ms Khan took place after the event ended. According to Mr. Memon’s statement, event organizers had also hired two off-duty agents at their own expense.

Matt Ritter, the speaker of the Connecticut State House, said at a news conference on Thursday that he has been in contact with Ms. Khan since the attack, but that she still needs time to recover “both mentally and physically”.

“It was a very, very scary incident,” he said, adding that Ms Khan has the support of her colleagues in the general assembly.

“It is heartbreaking and, I think for all of us, a source of anger that a day of celebration and joy has turned – for Representative Khan and her family – into a day of fear and pain,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who attended the service with Ms Khan on Wednesday.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont also expresses his support. “I am disturbed that this happened on a holy day that was meant for peaceful prayer,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter, adding that Ms Khan “is a dedicated public servant who cares deeply about passing legislation that uplifts her constituents .” at Hartford and Windsor.”

Jan Ranssom reporting contributed.