RANTS TO RAMPAGE
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE INVOLVING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
The shooting outside Washington on Wednesday that left House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and several others wounded was the latest in a long line of political violence involving members of Congress. Here are some key events: Jan. 14, 2015: Christopher Lee Cornell, 22, of suburban Cincinnati, is arrested by the FBI in what was described as a plot to attack the Capitol in support of the Islamic State terror group. Nov. 6, 2014: Michael Hoyt, A former Cincinnatiarea bartender is charged with threatening to kill House Speaker John Boehner, R- Ohio. Jan. 8, 2011: Jared Loughner shoots Rep. Gabby Giffords, D- Ariz., in the head during a rampage at a public town hall event in Tucson. Six people were killed and 13, including Giffords, wounded. July 24, 1998: Russell Weston, a man with a history of mental illness shoots his way into the Capitol building filled with lawmakers and tourists, killing two Capitol Police officers and wounding a tourist. Nov. 7, 1983: A bomb rips through the second floor of the Capitol, damaging a conference room and the offices of Sen. Robert Byrd, D- W. Va. No one was injured. Nov. 18, 1978: Rep. Leo Ryan, D- Calif., is shot and killed during an official visit to Guyana while investigating the activities of the Peoples Temple group led by Jim Jones. June 5, 1968: Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is shot by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles moments after declaring victory in the California Democratic presidential primary. Kennedy died the next day. March 1, 1954: Five congressmen — Reps. Alvin Bentley, R- Michigan, George Fallon, D- Maryland, Kenneth Roberts, D- Alabama, Clifford Davis, DTennessee, and Ben. Jensen, R- Iowa — are shot on the floor of the House by Puerto Rican nationalists who fired shots from the visitors’ gallery. The lawmakers recovered. Four assailants were arrested.
Sun- Times Staff