A Louisiana Congressman who was wounded by a sniper while playing baseball will be in The Villages on Monday.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, the soon-to-be minority whip, will be at Barnes & Noble in Lake Sumter Landing at 2 p.m. to sign copies of his new book, “Back in the Game: One Gunman, Countless Heroes, and the Fight for My Life.” The book was just released last week so Villagers and area residents will be among the first to get signed copies of the memoir that shares Scalise’s harrowing nightmare of being shot on June 14, 2017, while practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game pitting Republicans against Democrats.
The 53-year-old Scalise was wounded in the hip during an attack by James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill. Hodgkinson, a left-wing activist and supporter of Bernie Sanders, was hiding in an area behind the third-base dugout when he opened fire on the Republican baseball practice and also wounded Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner, aide Zack Barth and lobbyist Matt Mika.
A vocal critic of the Republican Party and President Trump, Hodgkinson had a history of domestic violence. He was shot and killed by return fire from U.S. Capitol police officers and other law enforcement officials who responded to the call for help at the baseball field in Alexandria, Va. Not surprisingly, lawmakers have praised the quick actions taken by police to stop Hodgkinson and prevent the very real possibility of a massacre.
Scalise, of New Orleans, was struck by a rifle bullet that did extensive damage to his pelvis by fracturing bones, damaging internal organs and causing internal bleeding. He was in critical condition when he arrived at MedStar Washington Hospital “with an imminent risk of death,” a doctor at the facility said.
Scalise’s new book offers readers a minute-by-minute account of the day. It shares his story of surviving grueling injuries and also pays tribute to the “heroes” who emerged to play critical roles in his survival and that of others on the ball field after the shooting.
Villagers also surely can expect Scalise to share his thoughts on the moment when he returned to the baseball field on June 6 – almost a year after suffering the near-fatal wounds in the shooting attack. The Louisiana State University graduate was proudly wearing a yellow Tigers jersey as he trotted out to second base to field ground balls while practicing for an upcoming game.
It was a moment that was captured by fellow Republican Jeff Flake, who tweeted out a photo of Scalise throwing a ball with the message “@Steve Scalise back on the field this morning. This does my heart good.” The Arizona senator also was at the ball park the morning of the shooting.
A week after that monumental practice, Scalise, walking with a cane, took the field for the annual charity game. He was wearing a red, white and blue jersey sporting “USA” and the number 1 on it as he smiled and waved to the cheering crowd. A few minutes later he threw Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz out at first base and was rushed by several lawmakers who stopped the game to hug and congratulate him.
Florida Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis, a former congressman, recalled the day Scalise was shot during an October campaign stop in The Villages. During his speech at the La Hacienda Recreation Center – his second visit to the community in three-month period – DeSantis recalled running into Hodgkinson the day of the shooting as he was leaving the field early, moments before the gunfire erupted.
“This hits home to me,” DeSantis said, recalling how Hodgkinson asked him and a colleague if the players on the field were Republicans. “We got in the car, we drove away and he went to the van parked by the third-base side, grabbed a rifle and started shooting the Republican members of Congress.”
DeSantis used the example to hit home with fellow Republicans at the rally of the extremist attitude some have taken toward politics these days and the dangers that exist.
“He’s yelling and screaming, he’s anti-Trump, a Bernie Sanders guy and all this other stuff,” he said to a round of applause. “And he was trying to kill a bunch of Republicans.”
When Scalise arrives Monday, he will become one of many high-profile authors to visit The Villages Barnes & Noble in Lake Sumter Landing during the past year. Those others include:
- Popular Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson signed copies of his book, “Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution,” at the store on Oct. 6.
- The night before, “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy and his wife, Kathy, signed copies of their new cookbook, “The Happy Cookbook: A Celebration of the Food That Makes America Smile.” And Steve Doocy appeared in live segments during Friday’s edition of “Fox & Friends” from Lake Sumter Landing outside RJ Gator’s.
- In August, Greg Gutfeld, co-host of “The Five” signed copies of “The Gutfeld Monologues: Classic Rants From The Five.” He brought in a huge crowd of fans, including an 11-year-old girl who lined up seven hours in advance to be the first to greet him.
- In May, Bret Baier, host of “Special Report with Bret Baier” and chief political anchor for Fox signed copies of his new book titled: “Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire.” His aunt, Kathy Scarito, lives in the Village of Sunset Pointe.
- In December 2017, Doocy’s “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade was in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown to sign copies of his latest book, “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America’s Destiny.”
- And in August, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer signed copies of his new book, “The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President.” Spicer told the crowd of Villagers at the event that he wrote the book to “set the record straight” about Trump’s campaign and presidential victory.
