Overview

• Surveillance footage shows Joshua Rowell approaching the clerk from behind outside the Dirksen Federal Building and delivering a punch that knocked her to the ground.
• The unnamed clerk was hospitalized with a concussion after the Tuesday afternoon attack during her official duties.
• Chicago police arrested Rowell about an hour after the assault in a swift response aimed at enhancing courthouse safety.
• The federal complaint filed Friday invokes a statute that imposes up to eight years in prison for assaulting a government employee on duty.
• U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros vowed zero tolerance for violence against federal staff and promised swift prosecution of the case.