Former US Senator Barbara Boxer Assaulted, Robbed of Cellphone in Oakland, California

Former US Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1983 and represented California's 6th congressional district until 1992, when she secured a seat in the Senate, where she remained until 2017. Boxer, who did not seek reelection in 2016, had her seat filled by then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Authorities in Oakland, California, are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of an assailant who allegedly assaulted and robbed former Sen. Boxer, 80, on Monday. 

The former US lawmaker from California was in Oakland's Jack London Square neighborhood when an assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and escaped by hopping into a moving vehicle, according to a tweet authored on her behalf. 

Earlier today former Senator Barbara Boxer was assaulted in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland. The assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped in a waiting car. She is thankful that she was not seriously injured."

— Barbara Boxer (@BarbaraBoxer) July 26, 2021

"She is thankful that she was not seriously injured," the statement read. 

The Oakland Police Department told The Hill that the victim, now known to be Boxer, was walking in the historic waterfront neighborhood around 1:15 p.m. local time when she was "approached by a suspect" who "forcefully took loss from the victim, and fled in a nearby waiting vehicle." 

Authorities in the area were able to track the phone down to the neighboring city of San Francisco, according to an early report from Bay Area outlet KGO. At the time, officers were searching around the area of Bush and Kearny Streets. 

The Oakland Police Department's robbery department is investigating the incident, which carries up to a $2,000 reward for those with information that results in an arrest.