United States Capitol Police charged a 36-year-old man with simple assault Friday after Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., claimed he accosted him for backing Israel.
Shabd Khalsa allegedly made disrespectful comments towards Santos in the Longworth House Office Building, accusing the lawmaker of supporting "Israeli genocide."
Later, Capitol Police confirmed to Newsmax that Khalsa was in custody due to a seemingly different physical incident with a congressional staffer. The staffer has not been identified.
"This afternoon, the USCP arrested 36-year-old Shabd Khalsa and charged him with simple assault after an officer witnessed him have physical contact with a Congressional Staffer in the Longworth Building," the USCP stated, adding that it will investigate further.
Khalsa was reportedly accompanied by another individual, who has not been identified.
A video shared by Scripps News congressional correspondent Nathaniel Reed on X showed the man in Capitol Police's custody around 3:30 p.m. ET.
Santos, shortly before, was seen yelling down Longworth, accompanied by reporters, calling the man a "terrorist sympathizer who has no business in this building."
"Nobody defending Hamas has any business in this building, whether you're elected, whether you're a civilian," Santos told reporters. "It is a disgrace that we allow people to parade that kind of thought in here."
He also claimed he was holding a child when it occurred. New York Post reporter Josh Christenson corroborated the story but said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told him the child was not the lawmaker's.
Newsmax received a statement from Santos' office several hours after the incident occurred:
"A Hamas supporter and their partner cornered me and berated me with a two-month-old baby in my arms. This heinous behavior has no place in our society, let alone in our nation's Capitol," Santos wrote.
"We are in contact with the appropriate authorities and can confirm the Hamas supporter has been apprehended," he continued. "I intend to spend my time in Congress defending Israel, the Jewish people, and ensuring that Hamas and its cohorts are extinguished."
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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