Rep. Studds Beaten by Men Seeking ‘Something to Do’

Rep. Gerry E. Studds was beaten on a Washington street corner early Friday by two men looking for “something to do,” a Secret Service spokesman said.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Democrat said: “Gerry was mugged and beaten up pretty bad, but the bottom line is he’s OK.”

The attackers knocked Studds down, then punched and kicked him in the head and body while a third man egged them on, according to U.S. Atty. Jay B. Stephens.

Studds, 53, is one of two members of Congress who has publicly stated that he is homosexual, but spokesman Steven Schwadron said there is no indication that that was a motive for the attack.

“There doesn’t seem to have been any clear motive,” Schwadron said. “There was no robbery.”

Studds suffered “bruises to the head and body,” according to a press release from his office, “but was in good spirits as he returned home to Massachusetts for the weekend.”

The incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. in the DuPont Circle neighborhood of Washington, a block from where Studds lives, according to Allan Cramer, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service. Studds’ office said the congressman was returning home alone from dinner at a friend’s house when he was attacked.

Two uniformed officers searched the neighborhood and arrested two men, who reportedly admitted commiting the attack. The men said they didn’t know Studds and called the beating “something to do at the time,” Cramer said.