Man Strikes Quayle on Head With Hurled Roll of Papers

WASHINGTON —  A man hit Vice President Dan Quayle in the head with a small sheaf of papers Wednesday after calling out to get his attention on Capitol Hill, officials said.

Quayle, who was not injured, was whisked away in his limousine. The man was arrested and charged with assaulting the vice president.

“The guy shouted ‘I have documents’ and proceeded to throw same,” said Quayle’s press secretary, David Beckwith.

The man called to Quayle from about 20 feet away as the vice president was getting into the limousine outside the Hart Senate Office Building after a luncheon with senators, Beckwith said.

Quayle looked up and the flying roll of papers glanced off his head after striking the car, the spokesman said.

Secret Service spokesman Allan Cramer said Capitol police and the Secret Service arrested Mwenea Sikuzote, 42, of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and charged him with the federal crime, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The Capitol police assist the Secret Service in blocking pedestrian traffic in situations involving the vice president’s motorcade near the Capitol, Cramer said.

“This guy kind of broke through the ranks,” he said.

One of the papers the man threw appeared to be a letter to President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, one official said.

“The vice president is fine,” Beckwith added. “He inquired about what the guy’s story was. He asked what his problem was but otherwise shrugged off the incident,” and returned to his office to prepare for his afternoon schedule.