Senate aide under investigation was arrested for assaulting a Capitol Police officer

Feb 26, 2024

A Senate staffer who is under congressional investigation for his work in foreign countries, including in Ukraine, was arrested by Capitol Police in 2019 for assaulting a police officer.

Kyle Parker, the congressional aide, was arrested while failing to comply with Capitol Police’s “commands during screening at the Ford Building,” Capitol Police said in a statement.

The statement described the incident as an “assault on police officer” and noted that Parker had a knife on him, but did not provide further details on the altercation. Capitol Police said the knife was “determined to be legal” and that the case was later dropped.

News of Parker’s arrest comes after The New York Times reported he was under investigation for his conduct while working for the Helsinki Commission, including his trips to Ukraine and providing equipment to its military. The commission, which is helmed by U.S. lawmakers, is a vocal supporter of Kyiv and is active in political circles in Washington and in Europe.

Neither The Helsinki Commission nor Parker responded to a request for comment.

While working for the commission, Parker took frequent trips to Ukraine and was photographed wearing military insignia and embedded with Kyiv’s soldiers on the frontlines, a person familiar with the ongoing investigation said.

Those trips worried staffers inside the Capitol Hill group and those working at the embassy in Kyiv, particularly because his movements in the country were often viewed as unsafe and reckless, the person said.

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