Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., turned away questions on Wednesday about why her office had hired a security guard with a criminal history after news broke that he had been shot and killed in an armed standoff with law enforcement in Dallas, Texas.
“I’m going to refer you to my page,” Crockett told Fox News Digital.
“I made a statement and I said there would be no additional statements. You need someone to read it for you? I can find someone to do that.”
The criminal history of Crockett’s bodyguard, Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39, who went by the alias “Mike King,” drew national attention last week when details emerged that he had a track record of run-ins with the law for theft, violating probation and impersonating law enforcement.
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Robinson was killed in a standoff with SWAT last week after he barricaded himself inside the garage of a children’s hospital as local police were looking to detain him while investigating an active warrant.
Local authorities said they had recovered 11 firearms during their investigation.
Crockett, who said she had known Robinson under the name, Mike King, said he had been employed by her office “for years” and that during that time he had not given her reason to suspect him of wrongdoing.
Crockett said her team had vetted Robinson according to standards laid out for lawmaker security, according to a statement put out by her office.
“We are saddened and shocked by some of the concerning revelations. Our team followed all protocols outlined by the House to contract additional security. We were approved to use this vendor who also provided security services for additional entities in the local community and worked closely with law enforcement agencies, including Capitol Police,” Crockett said in a statement.
She noted that she was surprised that her office hadn’t discovered his background until the time of his death.
“The fact that an individual was able to somehow circumvent the vetting processes for something as sensitive as security for members of Congress highlights the loopholes and shortcomings in many of our systems,” her office’s statement read.
