FAIRFAX, Va. — A Fairfax man who attacked staffers for Rep. Gerry Connolly inside district office last year has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Xuan-Kha Tran Pham entered the plea for all four of his charges — three felony charges including malicious wounding and a misdemeanor hate crime assault.
Police in Fairfax City said he used a metal baseball bat to attack two female staffers, including an intern who was two hours into her first day on the job. One was hit on the side while another was struck in the head, according to Connolly.
The two victims were quickly released from the hospital.
“We're physically cleaning up the office,” Connolly said following the 2023 attack. “There's blood and glass in the front part of the office but the longer-term challenge is trying to recover from the trauma."
Connolly said what happened only intensified the need for more security for Congress members.
A judge accepted Pham's insanity plea on Monday, according to Laura Birnbaum, a spokesperson for the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Birnbaum said the plea was made in consultation with the victims.
“Individual mental health experts for the Commonwealth and the defense agreed that the defendant was legally insane at the time of the attack. Therefore, the only practical way forward was to have the defendant remanded to the custody of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services," she said.
Pham will remain in custody for as long as necessary, Birnbaum said. His next status hearing is scheduled for Nov. 1.