1983 United States Senate bombing
1983 United States Senate bombing | |
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The 1983 U.S. Senate bombing was a bomb explosion at the
Background
In October 1983, the United States
Bombing
On November 7, 1983, the Senate adjourned at 7:02 p.m. For the next two hours, a well-attended reception was held near the Senate Chamber. At 10:58 p.m., there was an explosion on the second floor of the Capitol's north wing; adjacent hallways were mostly unoccupied at the time.[3]
A few minutes before the explosion, a tape-recorded message was telephoned to
The force of the explosive device, placed beneath a bench at the eastern end of the corridor outside the Chamber, blew off the door to Democratic Leader
The explosion caused no structural damage to the Capitol. Officials calculated damages of $1,000,000.[9]
Resistance Conspiracy
The group Resistance Conspiracy was a United States-based branch of the wider communist organization known as the May 19th Communist Order. This group existed from its first attack in 1976 until later attacks in 1985. Throughout the lifespan of the organization, twenty incidents of domestic terrorism were committed including one murder. The organization is also known as the Armed Resistance Unit, the Red Guerilla Resistance, and the Revolutionary Fighting Group.[10]
Earlier that year, on April 25, 1983, a small bomb was detonated at the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. A call coming into UPI in advance of the attack mentioned "U.S. imperialism." The National War College is where American military officials get high-level training. Following the attack, it was immediately sealed off. Of the device causing the explosion, Col. Jamie Walton of the Army remarked that it "appeared to be 5 to 10 pounds of unknown explosives detonated by some sort of timing device." Colonel Walton also reported that no injuries were incurred, although there was superficial damage to the outside of the building.[11]
A year later, on April 24, 1984, a group calling itself the Guerilla Resistance Movement took responsibility for a bombing at the Officer's Club at the Washington Navy Yard. Their reasons for the bombing were opposition to U.S. policy in Central America and independence for Puerto Rico. The explosion at the Officer's Club occurred at 1:50 AM. An FBI spokesman said it was caused by a powerful bomb placed under a couch near the club's entrance. The explosion blew out windows, knocked down part of a ceiling, and damaged the interior of the three-story, brick building. The building was vacant at the time and no one was injured.[12]
Aftermath
Within minutes of the explosion, a dozen fire trucks and four ambulances arrived at the west front of the Capitol while officers with police dogs began searching the area for clues. Witnesses attested to hearing a loud blast and seeing smoke at the Capitol.[5] FBI officials determined that the bomb was a high-explosive device with delayed timing, consisting of sticks of dynamite with a pocket watch as a timer.[8]
A group calling itself Armed Resistance Unit claimed responsibility for the bombing. The group mailed a recorded communique to National Public Radio stating, "We purposely aimed our attack at the institutions of imperialist rule rather than at individual members of the ruling class and government. We did not choose to kill any of them this time. But their lives are not sacred."[13]
After a five year investigation, federal agents arrested six members of the Armed Resistance conspiracy group, on May 12, 1988, and charged them with bombing the Capitol, as well as Fort McNair and the Washington Navy Yard.
On January 20, 2001, the day he left office, President
The area outside the Senate Chamber, previously open to the public, was permanently closed after the 1983 bombing.[7] Congressional officials also set up a system requiring staff ID cards for entry and installed metal detectors at building entrances. These metal detectors were in addition to those already in place at the Chamber Gallery doors following a prior Capitol bombing in 1971.[7][17]
See also
References
- ^ "Terrorist Bomb Explosion Rocks Capitol". library.cqpress.com. Washington, D.C.: CQ Almanac 1983. 1983. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ "Bomb explodes in U.S. Capitol, Nov. 7, 1983". Politico. November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b "November 7, 1983: Bomb Explodes in Capitol". United States Senate. Archived from the original on February 22, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ "Terrorist Bomb Explosion Rocks Capitol: The Suspects". library.cqpress.com. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Almanac Online Edition. 1984. pp. 593–594. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ William Rosenau, The Dark History of America’s First Female Terrorist Group; The women of May 19th bombed the U.S. Capitol and plotted Henry Kissinger’s murder. But they’ve been long forgotten. May 3, 2020. Politico
- ^ a b c d "U.S. Senate: Bomb Explodes in Capitol". www.senate.gov. U.S. Senate Historical Office. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "Terrorist Bomb Explosion Rocks Capitol: The Bombing". library.cqpress.com. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Almanac Online Edition. 1984. p. 592. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ Thulin, Lila (January 6, 2020). "In the 1980s, a Far-Left, Female-Led Domestic Terrorism Group Bombed the U.S. Capitol". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ a b Shenon, Philip (May 12, 1988). "U.S. Charges 7 In the Bombing At U.S. Capitol". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ a b "Radical Gets 20-Year Term in 1983 Bombing of U.S. Capitol". The New York Times. December 8, 1990. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ "Judge hands 20 years to bomber". Victoria Advocate. December 7, 1990.
- ^ Wong, Edward; Day, Sherri (January 21, 2001). "Former Terrorist Is Among Those Pardoned or Freed in Clinton's Final Acts in Office". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- ^ "Bomb Explodes in Capitol; Blast Linked to Laos Invasion | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.