Bernie Sanders ‘sickened’ by actions of alleged Virginia shooter, a former campaign volunteer

Following the shooting Wednesday morning at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Virginia, Bernie Sanders took to the Senate floor to denounce the violence. The alleged shooter, James T. Hodgkinson, of Illinois, reportedly volunteered on Sanders’s presidential campaign.

In his speech Wednesday, the Vermont senator said he was “sickened by this despicable act.”

“Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms,” he said. “Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values.”

Hodgkinson’s brother told The New York Times that the 66-year-old “wasn’t happy with the way things were going,” referring to the election of President Donald Trump. Former neighbors described him as a “normal guy.” The former mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, where the shooting occurred, told the Washington Post that Hodgkinson appeared to living out of a gym bag.

Hodgkinson died at a Washington, D.C., hospital after being shot by Capitol Police.

Read Sanders’s full speech, as spoken on the Senate floor, below:

“I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice this morning is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign. I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values.

I know I speak for the entire country, when I say my hopes and prayers are that Representative Scalise, congressional staff and the Capitol Police officers who were wounded make a quick and full recovery. I also want to thank the Capitol Police for their heroic actions to prevent further harm.”