A newly released report from the House Intelligence Committee sharply criticizes the FBI for failing to conduct a thorough investigation into the 2017 congressional baseball field shooting, and for prematurely dismissing the incident as unrelated to domestic terrorism, despite significant indications that the gunman was politically motivated to target Republican lawmakers.
The report, published Tuesday, alleges that the FBI relied on inaccurate statements and misleading characterizations to quickly rule out domestic terrorism in the case of shooter James Hodgkinson, just one week after the attack.
“The FBI case file makes clear this case was a premeditated assassination attempt on Republican congressmen by a radical, left-wing political extremist, who was seeking to affect the conduct of our government,” the report states.
According to the committee, FBI Director Kash Patel worked closely with them to release the case documents, following years of resistance under prior FBI leadership. The agency handed over 2,500 pages of records in March and an additional 1,900 pages in April, which formed the basis of the committee’s findings. The FBI has indicated that these documents represent the entirety of the case file.
On June 21, 2017—just seven days after the shooting—the FBI issued a press statement asserting that it “does not believe there is a nexus to terrorism,” based on “information and evidence gathered in ongoing interviews, searches, and other investigative activity.”
However, the House report contradicts that conclusion, arguing that the shooter’s actions were consistent with a politically driven attack rather than a suicide attempt by provoking police—a theory originally floated by the FBI.
Evidence cited in the report includes the fact that Hodgkinson opened fire when no uniformed officers were present, suggesting he was not seeking to be killed by police. He also fired from a concealed location to reduce his exposure to return fire. Additionally, the night before the attack, Hodgkinson searched online for directions to return home and messaged his wife that he planned to come back.
The report adds, “After all, chronologically, Hodgkinson was upset with President Trump’s election, took a concealed carry firearms class, told friends and family they may not see him again, left his wife in Illinois, drove with his firearms to Washington, D.C. ‘to protest,’ cased the Eugene Simpsons Park baseball field for two months, and then confirmed the presence of Republican congressmen before using his firearms to shoot more than 70 rounds at Republican congressmen and staff.”
The committee also notes that the FBI did not initially disclose political writings found among Hodgkinson’s belongings, which included references to “win back the power of the people” and reflected concerns over significant political changes in recent decades.
Moreover, the report argues that labeling the attack as either suicide by cop or domestic terrorism does not have to be mutually exclusive. It references historical examples, including the 9/11 attacks and other incidents carried out by Islamic extremists, to underscore this point. Although the FBI lacks a formal definition of suicide by cop, the committee rejects the bureau’s interpretation of Hodgkinson’s motives.
The report further criticizes the FBI for neglecting basic investigatory practices. It claims agents did not conduct in-depth interviews with members of Congress who were at the baseball field and failed to follow up with victims and witnesses beyond initial conversations.
One notable omission was former Representative Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who was on the scene during the attack and whose name appeared on a list of targets found with Hodgkinson. Brooks, who was awarded a medal by Capitol Police for his actions during the incident, was never interviewed by the FBI.
