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Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.Rep. Leonard Boswell, 77, confronted an armed intruder in his Iowa home Saturday night before his grandson was able to scare the person off with a shotgun, the Democrat’s office said in a statement Sunday morning.
The Congressman and some members of his family suffered scrapes and bruises, but they are otherwise fine, his office said.
Boswell was in his farmhouse outside Lamoni with his wife, Dody, his daughter, Cindy Brown, and his grandson, Mitchell Brown, when the intruder entered through the front door at approximately 10:45 p.m.
The intruder assaulted Cindy Brown and demanded money at gunpoint. The Congressman attempted to disarm the intruder while his grandson fetched the shotgun from another room, according to the statement. Mitchell Brown pointed the shotgun at the intruder, who then disappeared into the fields around the house.
Boswell spokesman Grant Woodard told the Associated Press that the family is shaken up but that “they’re dealing with it pretty well.”
The Decatur County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident with state and federal authorities.
Boswell, who is in his eighth term, is facing one of the most-watched Member-vs.-Member contests of 2012. Rep. Tom Latham (R) plans to take on Boswell in the state’s redrawn 3rd district in southwest Iowa after one seat was eliminated following reapportionment.
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