Man Arrested in Attack on Connecticut Lawmaker After Eid Prayer

June 29, 2023Updated 6:57 p.m. ET

A man was arrested in connection with an attack on a Connecticut state lawmaker, the first Muslim elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, after an Eid al-Adha prayer service Wednesday.

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

The man, Andrey Desmond, 30, from New Britain, Conn., was arrested and charged by the police on Wednesday with unlawful restraint, assault, breach of peace and interfering with the police. He was transported to the Hartford Police Detention Division for processing.

Mr. Desmond was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and has a long history of psychiatric hospitalizations and stays in inpatient facilities in New York City and Connecticut, according to records and interviews with Mr. Desmond. He was released from prison in 2020 and was living in a supportive housing facility in the Bronx. He returned to Connecticut in May.

The attack occurred following 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 the police and Mr. Kaza. A man, later identified by the police as Mr. Desmond, “began to make unwanted advances,” according to the police. He then tried to prevent Ms. Khan from leaving the event and assaulted her.

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

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

While the 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 prompted calls for better protection of Muslims in Connecticut during Eid celebrations.

Farhan Memon, the chair of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, urged local, state and federal officials to investigate whether the assault was motivated by hate, according to an online statement from the Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

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

Matt Ritter, the speaker of the Connecticut State House, said during a Thursday news conference that he has been in touch with Ms. Khan since the attack but that she still needed 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’s heartbreaking and, I think for all of us, a source of anger that a day of celebration and joy was turned into — for Representative Khan and her family — a day of fear and pain,” said Mayor Luke Bronin of Hartford, who attended the service with Ms. Khan on Wednesday.

Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut also extended his support. “It’s disturbing to me that this happened on a holy day meant to be marked with peaceful prayer,” he said in a statement on Twitter, adding that Ms. Khan “is a dedicated public servant who cares deeply about passing legislation that uplifts her constituents in Hartford and Windsor.”

Jan Ransom contributed reporting.

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