LONDON (AP) — A masked attacker on a motorcycle stabbed and seriously injured a British army officer in daylight near a barracks in southeast England, witnesses and police said Wednesday.
A 24-year-old man was arrested soon after on suspicion of attempted murder, Kent police said.
Police said the assailant acted alone and the stabbing was not believed to be an act of terror. They are investigating if it was related to the suspect's mental health.
The officer, who is in his 40s, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital for treatment, the British army said. He was in serious but stable condition, police said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled,” writing on social network X. "All our thoughts are with the soldier, his family and our Armed Forces community, who serve to keep all of us safe. I wish him a swift recovery.”
Defense Secretary John Healey also called the attack “shocking.”
The Kent Police force said officers were called Tuesday evening to reports of an assault in the town of Gillingham, 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) southeast of London.
Witnesses said an attacker wearing a ski mask, rode up on a motorbike, attacked the soldier, and then fled.
Alex Reynolds, who lives nearby, said he came out of his house and saw a man in military uniform lying in a street "not moving.”
"It was a minute and a half after the incident, there were already 10 people around the body," he said. He said others at the scene said they saw the attacker “speed away” on the bike.
A suspect was arrested within half an hour and several knives were seized, police said. British police do not name suspects until they have been charged.
The road where police said the attack happened is close to Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army’s 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment. On Wednesday morning, police cars and crime scene tape cordoned off both ends of the treelined road.
“Our thoughts are with the soldier and their family and we request that their privacy is respected at this difficult time," the army said in a statement. “We will continue to work closely with Kent Police to understand what happened and support the investigation."
Attacks on soldiers in Britain are rare. In 2013, two men inspired by al-Qaida killed 25-year-old soldier Lee Rigby in a London street, running him down with a car before stabbing him to death. The men were sentenced to life in prison.
A police cordon at Sally Port Gardens in Gillingham, Kent, England, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after a soldier in uniform was stabbed on Tuesday evening, close to Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army's 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment. The victim was airlifted to hospital for treatment and a 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
A man in military uniform stands beside a police cordon at the scene in Sally Port Gardens in Gillingham, Kent, England, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after a soldier in uniform was stabbed on Tuesday evening, close to Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army's 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment. The victim was airlifted to hospital for treatment and a 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three Libertarian candidates seeking U.S. House seats in Iowa will not appear on the ballot this November following a judge's ruling Saturday, upholding a state election panel’s decision.
The ruling came in an appeal by the candidates after the State Objection Panel, composed of one Democratic and two Republican elected officials, ruled 2-1 that the Libertarian candidates should be removed from the ballot on a technicality.
The panel agreed with several Republican Party officials who argued that the Libertarian Party failed to follow state law when it nominated the candidates at its party convention, which was held on the same day as precinct caucuses where the candidates were selected. State law says the term of convention delegates begins the day after the caucuses.
That means the Libertarian candidates were not nominated at valid county conventions, conservative attorney Alan Ostergren argued.
Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert agreed and rejected the candidates' arguments that the state panel had no authority to strike them from the ballot. He found that the state law is “mandatory in nature and requires strict compliance.”
“The panel concluded correctly by requiring this level of compliance,” Huppert wrote.
The panel's two Republican members, Attorney General Brenna Bird and Secretary of State Paul Pate, sided with the challengers, saying the parties are obligated to follow the rules governing candidate nominations. The lone dissent on the three-person panel came from State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, who accused his colleagues of political bias.
Independent or third-party candidates usually have little chance of winning. Still, the question of how their margin of support could change the outcome of the race vexes Democratic and Republican leaders alike.
“In general, the parties are worried about minor parties that might take votes from them,” said Stephen Medvic, professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College. “It’s a pretty straightforward calculus. The Libertarian is more likely to take votes from the Republican.”
Challenges to third-party candidates are as common as the election cycle, Medvic said, and especially at the presidential level, they often occur in swing states where a fraction of the vote for a third-party candidate could matter most.
One of Iowa’s four congressional races was decided by a razor-thin margin in 2022. Republican Zach Nunn, who challenged incumbent Democrat Cindy Axne, won by less than a percentage point. There was not a third-party candidate.
The Libertarian Party of Iowa reached major party status in 2022, when their nominee for governor earned support from more than 2% of voters.
The state’s attorney told the judge at a hearing Thursday that the state’s regulations for major parties are reasonable and non-discriminatory to keep the nominating process organized and transparent, arguing that Iowa’s interest in keeping the candidates off the ballot is to maintain election integrity.
The chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, Jules Cutler, told the judge that this was “bullying” to keep the “small kid on the block” off the ballot. Cutler has called the party’s technical mistakes embarrassing but argued they should not invalidate the nominations.
The judge’s ruling means that the names of Libertarian nominees Nicholas Gluba in the 1st District, Marco Battaglia in the 3rd District and Charles Aldrich in the 4th District will not be included — for now — on the ballot.
Ballots were supposed to be certified by Pate’s office on Sep. 3, but the judge ordered certification to be put on hold until the issue could be heard in court. An appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court is still possible, further delaying the certification and printing of ballots.
The State Objection Panel, consisting of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird, meet Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. (Erin Murphy/The Gazette via AP)
