Colorado Man Sentenced for Assaulting a Congressman

A man who assaulted U.S. Congressman Steve King was sentenced March 5, 2020, to two years’ probation.

Blake Gibbins, age 27, from Lafayette, Colorado, received the sentence after a September 23, 2019, guilty plea to one count of assaulting a member of congress.

In his plea agreement, Gibbins admitted that on March 22, 2019, at the Mineral City Mill & Grill in Fort Dodge, Iowa, he approached a table where U.S. Congressman Steve King and others were seated. He admitted he then assaulted Congressman King by intentionally throwing a full glass of water on him. He also admitted he was wrong to throw water on Congressman King.

Gibbins was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Gibbins was sentenced to 2 years’ probation, as recommended by both parties.  He was also ordered to do 200 hours of community service in the first year of his probation.      

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy T. Duax and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fort Dodge Police Department, and the United States Capitol Police. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is CR19-3033-LTS.

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