Violence Against Members of Congress and
Their Staff: Selected Examples and
Congressional Responses
R. Eric Petersen
Specialist in American National Government
Jennifer E. Manning
Information Research Specialist
Erin Hemlin
Research Associate
January 25, 2011
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R41609
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
Summary
Questions about the personal security and safety of members of Congress and their staffs have
arisen in the aftermath of a recent attack in Tucson, Arizona, and following reports of an increase
in the number of threats made against members of Congress.
Two measures have been introduced in the 112th Congress to address issues related to violence
against members and congressional staff. On January 19, 2011, Representative Robert A. Brady
of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 318 to amend title 18, United States Code, to punish threats to
commit violent crimes against members of Congress. On January 20, 2011, Representative Laura
Richardson introduced H.R. 367, the Freedom to Serve Without Fear Act of 2011, which would
prohibit the knowing possession of a firearm near a venue at which a member of Congress is
performing official duties or campaigning for public office.
Since 1789, available information from official and private sources suggests that there have been
at least 21 instances of attacks involving 24 members who were targeted by assailants. There have
been 12,013 individuals who have served as Representatives or Senators since 1789. In 11
instances, the attacks were thwarted, or resulted in no serious injuries to members. Another three
incidents resulted in wounds to seven members. Finally, seven instances resulted in the deaths of
seven members.
It appears that five of the incidents of attacks on members also affected some congressional staff.
Four of the incidents resulted in the wounding of congressional staff. Two incidents, a 1998 event
in which a gunman entered the Capitol, and the Tucson shooting on January 8, 2011, resulted in
fatalities to two congressional law enforcement personnel and one civilian employee of the
House, respectively.
This report will be updated as warranted.
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
Contents
Legislation in the 112th Congress................................................................................................. 1
H.R. 318 ............................................................................................................................... 1
H.R. 367 ............................................................................................................................... 1
H.Res. 50.............................................................................................................................. 1
Violence Against Members of Congress ...................................................................................... 2
Violence Against Congressional Staff.......................................................................................... 3
Responses to Violence Against Congress..................................................................................... 4
Tables
Table 1. Violence Against Members of Congress and Congressional Staff: Selected
Examples ................................................................................................................................. 6
Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 9
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 9
Congressional Research Service
Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
uestions about personal security and safety for members of Congress and their staffs have
arisen in the aftermath of a recent attack in Tucson, Arizona, in which a congressional staff
Q member and several constituents were killed, and a member and a number of others,
including other congressional staff, were critically injured. Concerns have also arisen following
reports of an increase in the number of threats against members of Congress.1 This report
describes legislation introduced in the 112th Congress related to violence against members and
congressional staff, provides examples of violence in which members of Congress were the
apparent target, and some actions Congress has taken based in part on those incidents.
Legislation in the 112th Congress
H.R. 318
On January 19, 2011, Representative Robert A. Brady of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 318 to
amend title 18, United States Code, to punish threats to commit violent crimes against members
of Congress. According to a Dear Colleague letter issued by Representative Brady, the measure
would extend prohibitions of threats against the President, Vice President, Presidents-elect, and
Vice Presidents-elect to members of Congress and members-elect of Congress.2 H.R. 318 was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. No further action has been taken at the time of this
writing.
H.R. 367
On January 20, 2011, Representative Laura Richardson introduced H.R. 367, the Freedom to
Serve Without Fear Act of 2011. The measure would prohibit the knowing possession of a firearm
near a venue at which a member of Congress is performing an official, representational duty, or
campaigning for public office. The measure would also encourage states to adopt prohibitions
similar to federal law to protect state and local elected and appointed officials. H.R. 367 was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. No further action has been taken at the time of this
writing.
H.Res. 50
Representative Dan Burton of Indiana introduced H.Res. 50, to provide for enclosing the visitors’
galleries of the House with a clear and bomb-proof material on January 24, 2011. In addition, the
measure would provide for the installation of audio equipment to allow floor proceedings to be
audible in the galleries. H.Res. 50 was referred to the committee on House Administration. No
further action has been taken at the time of this writing.
1 Suzanne Kubota, “Threats Increasing on Capitol Hill,” FederalNewsRadio.com, January 10, 2011,
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=2228701&nid=15&_hw=threats+increasing+on+capitol+hill. Also, see
Solomon Banda, “Colo. Man Accused of Threatening Sen. Bennett Staff,” The Washington Post, January 10, 2011,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011003883.html.
2 Robert A. Brady, “Help Prevent Violent Threats Against Members of Congress,” Dear Colleague Letter, January 20,
2011, http://e-dearcolleague.house.gov/details.aspx?49890.
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
Violence Against Members of Congress
Since 1789, 12,013 individuals have served in Congress;3 10,737 in the House and 1,930 in the
Senate.4 Official records, supplemented from available news accounts,5 suggest that there have
been at least 21 instances of attacks6 involving 24 members7 who were targeted by assailants. In
11 instances, the attacks were thwarted, or resulted in no serious injuries to members. Another
three incidents resulted in the wounding of seven members. Finally, seven instances resulted in
the deaths of seven members.
In these examples, individual members were sometimes the target of violence. In others, members
or congressional staff may have been secondary targets in attacks that targeted Congress or other
components of the U.S. government. This report excludes members who participated in wars as
combatants, or circumstances when members attempted or committed suicide. Several other
instances, in which some members voluntarily initiated violent activities, including duels,
fistfights, beatings,8 and other conflicts,9 sometimes with other members, are excluded from
consideration. Also excluded are incidents in which the Capitol was attacked, but no members or
staff were reported as injured. Examples include the burning of the Capitol during the War of
1812; the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in which the Capitol and Congress may have been a
target; and bombings in the Capitol in 1915, 1971, and 1983.10 A final group of exclusions
3 These numbers include 654 members who served in the House and Senate, but do not include the additional 213
nonvoting Delegates and Resident Commissioners who have served in the House. Information about all individuals
who have served in Congress is available in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, a website
maintained by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate at http://bioguide.congress.gov.
4 A chronological list of all U.S. Senators in history is available on the Senate website at http://www.senate.gov/
artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/chronlist.pdf.
5 Official records and news accounts may not identify all instances in which a member of Congress was involved in
violent circumstances.
6 There are also several examples of unsuccessful attempted attacks, including the escape of Representative Charles
Pelham of North Carolina, who in the late summer of 1874 was reportedly compelled to escape his district after
learning that a group of citizens who disagreed with some of his policy positions had assembled, allegedly to attempt to
kill him. See “Terrorism in the South,” New York Times, September 1, 1874, p. 1. In another example, Martin R.
Kemmerer on December 13, 1932, brandished a hand gun in the House gallery, and without appearing to target anyone,
demanded the opportunity to speak. Kemmerer obeyed the demand of Representative Melvin Joseph Maas of
Minnesota to drop his weapon to the floor, and was subdued by two visitors and Representative Fiorello La Guardia, of
New York, who entered the gallery behind the gunman while Representative Maas, who caught the loaded weapon, and
Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts assured other members that the gunman would not hurt anyone.
“Youth With Pistol Terrorizes House,” The New York Times, December 14, 1932, p. 44; Robert C. Albright, “Gunman
Demands Floor to Plead for Relief,” The Washington Post, December 14, 1932, p. 1; and “House Gunman to be Tried,”
The Washington Post, December 16, 1932, p. 8.
7 Senator Huey Pierce Long of Louisiana was the target of two attacks: an attempted bombing in which there were no
injuries, and his assassination.
8 For example an assault on Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts on the Senate floor on May 22, 1856. Two days
before, Senator Sumner delivered a floor speech denouncing the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Representative Preston Smith
Brooks of South Carolina saw the speech as a libel on his state and on Senator Andrew Pickens Butler of South
Carolina, to whom Mr. Brooks was related. Representative Brooks beat Senator Sumner with a cane, causing injuries
from which it took the Senator three years to recover and return to Congress.
9 See Donald C. Bacon, “Violence in Congress,” in The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, ed. Donald C.
Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, and Morton Keller (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995), pp.2062-2066. Specific
examples of gun use by members before and during their congressional service is available in “Gun-Fighters in
Congress,” The Washington Post, April 26, 1908, p. M4.
10 The three bombings occurred when Congress was in recess or had adjourned for the day, and the Capitol was largely
(continued...)
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includes incidents in which members were involved in violent activities or killed, but the
circumstances do not appear related to their roles as members.11
Violence Against Congressional Staff
It appears that five of the incidents of attacks on members also affected some congressional staff.
In 1905, “Doc” Thompkins, private secretary to Representative John M. Pinckney of Texas, was
wounded in a riot in which Representative Pinckney was killed. In 1935, Earle Christenberry,
secretary to Senator Huey Pierce Long of Louisiana, opened a package containing a bomb, which
did not explode. In a 1978 incident, Jackie Speier, a staff member working for Representative Leo
Joseph Ryan of California, was critically wounded by gunfire in an attack in Guyana.
Representative Ryan was killed in the attack. Two incidents, a 1998 event in which a gunman
entered the Capitol, and the Tucson shooting, resulted in fatalities to two congressional law
enforcement personnel, and one civilian employee of the House, respectively.
Instances of violence against congressional staff arguably pose significant challenges. Because
they are private citizens who do not receive extensive, sustained public attention, there is no
assurance that all instances of violence against them can be identified. Violence against staff that
is reported here happened in the course of their official duties. Identifying all who have served
Congress in a staff capacity, and then identifying whether they have suffered violence during that
service, presents all but insurmountable obstacles to compiling an exhaustive and authoritative
inventory of violent incidents. A consequence of these challenges is that the material presented
here cannot with authority be said to comprise all of the attacks on members of Congress or staff
that have ever occurred.
Table 1 summarizes incidents of violence directed against members or congressional staff. This
material should be interpreted with care. Although they have high profiles, and any incident of
violence against them is likely to engender considerable attention in contemporary times, it is
possible that some incidents of violence involving members have not been captured. It is also
possible that available sources, whether official or non-official, provide limited12 or conflicting
accounts of a member’s involvement in violent activities.13
(...continued)
vacant. See Donald C. Bacon, “Violence Against Congress,” in The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, ed.
Donald C. Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, and Morton Keller (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995), pp. 2060-2061; “Set
Bomb in Capitol, Waited for Explosion,” Boston Daily Globe, July 4, 1915, p. 1; “July 2, 1915:Bomb Rocks Capitol,”
United States Senate, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Bomb_Rocks_Capitol.htm; “November 7,
1983: Bomb Explodes in Capitol,” United States Senate, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/
bomb_explodes_in_capitol.htm.
11 Examples include a member who was mugged, apparently at random; another incident during which a member had a
gun pointed at him; and the death of Representative Lawrence Patton McDonald of Georgia, who was killed in the mid-
flight destruction of Korean Air Lines flight 007 by the Soviet military over the Sea of Japan on September 1, 1983.
See Donald P. Baker and Alfred E. Lewis, “Rep. Michel, Minority Whip, Is Assaulted on Capitol Hill,” The
Washington Post, July 22, 1978, p. A1; Martin Weil, “2 Kidnapped, Gun Pointed at Rep Long,” July 23, 1974, p. C1;
and http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000413.
12 For example, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Representative Cornelius Springer
Hamilton was “killed by an insane son,” but provides no other detail. See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/
biodisplay.pl?index=H000106
13 For example, some sources suggest that Delegate Henry Wharton Taylor of Arkansas Territory, who served in the
18th-20th Congresses (1823-1829) was killed in a duel. See the Political Graveyard website,
(continued...)
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
Responses to Violence Against Congress
On at least three occasions, incidents of violence involving members of Congress have led to
congressional legislative or administrative responses. These include
• a prohibition of the giving or accepting, within the District of Columbia, of
challenges to a duel,14 following the death of Representative Jonathan Cilley of
Maine. Representative Cilley was killed in a duel with Representative William J.
Graves of Kentucky on February 24, 1838, in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
• the enactment of law in the 91st Congress (1969-1970) making it a federal offense
to assassinate, kidnap, or assault a member of Congress or member-elect, or to
endeavor or conspire to commit such offenses15 following the assassination of
Senator Robert Francis Kennedy of New York on June 6, 1968.16
• the initiation of congressional mail screening following the delivery in the fall of
2001 of letters containing anthrax spores to the offices of Senator Patrick Leahy
of Vermont and Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota.17
Other instances of violence against members have resulted in discussions of policy proposals. In
the wake of an incident in 1932, in which a gunman in the House gallery demanded the
opportunity to address the House before surrendering the weapon without incident,
Representative Thomas Lindsay Blanton of Texas reportedly demanded that the “galleries be
closed to ‘cranks’ and ‘anarchists.’”18 No change to rules governing access to House galleries was
identified. Following shootings in the House in 1954, in which gunmen fired from the galleries
into the members on the floor, wounding five, proposals to install transparent shields between
visitors’ galleries and the House floor were discussed,19 but no action was taken. Several decades
later, in response to House gallery disturbances, and an incident in the British Parliament,20 in the
108th (2003-2004) and 110th (2007-2008) Congresses, Representative Dan Burton of Indiana
introduced H.Res. 665 and H.Res. 432, respectively. The measures would have provided for
enclosing the visitors’ galleries of the House of Representatives with a transparent and substantial
(...continued)
http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/conrey-coogan.html#RCG0VFR8E. By contrast, the Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress, which does identify violence visited upon some other members, states only that Delegate
Conway served in the House “until his death near Arkansas Post, Ark., then the Territorial seat of government,
November 9, 1827.” See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000712.
14 Chap. XXX (Unites States Statutes at Large), February 20, 1839, 5 Stat. 318.
15 18 U.S.C. 351. In Senate debate of S. 642, 91st Congress, Senator Robert Carlyle Byrd of West Virginia stated that he
“first introduced this bill shortly after the untimely assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.” Senator Byrd stated
that the measure was modeled on previously enacted legislation making it a federal offense to assassinate the President
or Vice President. Senator Robert Carlyle Byrd, “Congressional Assassination, Kidnapping and Assault,”
Congressional Record, vol. 116 (October 8, 1970), p. 35655.
16 Senator Kennedy was killed in Los Angeles while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000114
17 Jocelyn Jones Evans, One Nation Under Siege: Congress, Terrorism, and the Fate of American Democracy
(Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2010), pp. 79-108.
18 “Blanton Demands House Protection,” The Washington Post, December 15, 1932, p. 2.
19 Richard L. Lyons, “Bulletproof Glass Urged for Congress,” The Washington Post, March 4, 1954, p. 3.
20 “Commons Powder Attack on Blair,” CNN, May 19, 2004, http://articles.cnn.com/2004-05-19/world/
uk.parliament.powder_1_commons-lords-powder?_s=PM:WORLD.
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
material. The measures were referred to the Committee on House Administration, and no further
action was taken.21
21 Some violent incidents in which members were not directly involved have also led in part to congressional action.
The 1971 and 1983 bombings led in part to the introduction of visitor screening around the chamber galleries, and
Capitol entrances, respectively. The attacks of September 11, 2001, led in part to increases in the number of United
States Capitol Police officers, the deployment of a security perimeter, and construction of the Capitol Visitor Center.
See “Arva Marie Johnson Interview – March 1 2007,” Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, U.S.
House of Representatives. http://oralhistory.clerk.house.gov/interviewee.html?name=johnson-marie&view=docs;
“November 7, 1983: Bomb Explodes in Capitol,” United States Senate, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/
minute/bomb_explodes_in_capitol.htm; United States Senate, Secretary, Historical Office, Oral History, Leonard
Ballard, United States Capitol Police, October 20, 1983, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/
Ballard_interview_7.pdf; and Evans, One Nation Under Siege, pp. 26-51, 138-177.
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Table 1. Violence Against Members of Congress and Congressional Staff: Selected Examples
Incident
Type
Members or Congressional Staff Affected
Date
Circumstances
Shooting
Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona
January 8, 2011
A gunman opened fire at a congressional event in Tucson.
Gabriel Matthew Zimmerman, congressional staff
Mr. Zimmerman and five others were killed. Representative
Ron Barber, congressional staff
Giffords, Mr. Barber, Ms. Simon, and at least nine others
Pamela Simon, congressional staff
were wounded.
Biologic Attack
Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont
October, 2001
The offices of the two Senators received letters that
Senator Tom Daschle, South Dakota
contained anthrax spores. The Office of Attending Physician
instituted extensive testing of members, staff, and visitors in
the affected buildings, and administered prophylactic
antibiotics. No members or staff were sickened.
Shooting
Private First Class Jacob Chestnut, United States Capitol Police
July 24, 1998
Russel Eugene Weston, Jr., entered the Capitol carrying a
Detective John Gibson, United States Capitol Police
pistol and opened fire. While he eventually made his way to
the House Majority Whip’s office, it is not clear that he was
targeting any specific member, staffer, or member of the
public. After what was reported as approximately three
minutes of gunfire, a tourist was injured, and Officer
Chestnut and Detective Gibson were killed.
Assault
Senator John Herschel Glenn, Jr., Ohio
October 25, 1989
Punched on the chin during a television interview, but not
seriously injured.
Knife Wielding
Senator Edward Moore Kennedy, Massachusetts
November 28, 1979 A woman brandishing a knife entered Senator Kennedy’s
Assailant
office on Capitol Hill. She was seized by agents of the United
States Secret Service after a brief struggle in which one agent
was slightly wounded.
Shooting
Representative Leo Joseph Ryan, California
November 18, 1978 Representative Ryan and four others were killed in Guyana
Jackie Speier, congressional staff
by members of a religious cult. Ms. Speier, who currently
serves as a member of the House, was shot five times, and
critically wounded.
Assault
Senator Charles McCurdy Mathias, Jr., Maryland
January 2, 1975
Mr. Young was briefly held at knifepoint by an individual
James B. Young, congressional staff
seeking casework assistance. He escaped without injury and
the individual was arrested.
Assassination
Senator Robert Francis Kennedy, New York
June 6, 1968
Shot in Los Angeles while campaigning for the Democratic
presidential nomination.
CRS-6
Incident
Type
Members or Congressional Staff Affected
Date
Circumstances
Shooting
Representative Clifford Davis, Tennessee
March 1, 1954
Three armed assailants who advocated for the Puerto Rican
Representative Alvin Morel Bentley, Michigan
Nationalist Party opened fire on the House floor from the
Representative Benton Franklin Jensen, Iowa
visitors’ gallery. Five members were shot, and subsequently
Representative George Hyde Fal on, Maryland
recovered from their wounds.
Representative Kenneth Allison Roberts, Alabama
Shooting
Senator John William Bricker, Ohio
July 12, 1947
Two rounds were fired at, and missed, Senator Bricker in the
Senate Office Building by a former officer in the United States
Capitol Police.
Assassination
Senator Huey Pierce Long, Louisiana
September 8, 1935
Shot in the State Capitol Building in Baton Rouge. Died
September 10.
Attempted Bombing Senator Huey Pierce Long, Louisiana
February 19, 1935
A bomb was mailed to Senator Long’s Washington office.
Earle Christenberry, secretary
Damaged in the mail, it did not explode when opened by Mr.
Christenberry.
Attempted Bombing Representative Charles A. Eaton, New Jersey
June 22, 1933
A device containing dynamite and nitroglycerin was placed in
the vehicle of Representative Eaton at his home. An
employee discovered the bomb and neutralized it.
Bombing
Senator Charles Samuel Deneen
March 26, 1928
The home of Senator Deneen was damaged by a bootlegger,
but no one was hurt.
Attempted Bombing Representative John L. Burnett, Alabama
April-May, 1919a
Part of a larger effort against local state and federal officials in
which bombs were sent through the mail. The device
intended for Representative Burnett was held by the Post
Office for insufficient postage.
Assault
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Massachusetts
April 2, 1919
Struck by a pacificist leading a group that was upset that
Senator Lodge did not support the United States staying out
of armed conflict. The Senator was not injured.
Assassination/assault Representative John M. Pinckney, Texas
April 24, 1905
At a mass meeting in Hempstead, Texas, to petition the
”Doc" Thompkins, private secretary
governor to enforce state liquor laws, several participants
opened fire. Representative Pinckney was killed, and Mr.
Thompkins severely wounded.
Assault
Representative Robert Young Thomas, Jr., Kentucky
April 7, 1905
Assaulted by a political opponent angered by his remarks.
Assassination
Representative Thomas Haughey
August 5, 1869
Killed while making a political speech in Courtland, Alabama.
Assassination
Representative James Hinds, Arkansas
October 22, 1868
Reportedly shot by a drunken party committee member.
Patricide
Representative Cornelius Hamilton, Ohio
March 4, 1867
Killed by son who had exhibited signs of mental illness.
CRS-7
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp; American National Biography, http://www.anb.org/
articles/index.html; The National Cyclopedia of American Biography; U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, To Make it a Federal Offense to Assassinate, Kidnap, or
Assault a Member of Congress or a Member-of-Congress-Elect, S. 642, 91st Cong., 2nd sess., September 29, 1970, 91-1249 (Washington: GPO, 1970); H.Res. 32, 112th Congress;
and news and historical accounts of the incidents.
a. Numerous packages were sent as part of a larger plot. It could not be determined with accuracy when the package was sent to Representative Burnett, or when it was
stopped at the Post Office.
CRS-8
Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Examples and Responses
Author Contact Information
R. Eric Petersen
Erin Hemlin
Specialist in American National Government
Research Associate
epetersen@crs.loc.gov, 7-0643
ehemlin@crs.loc.gov, 7-1019
Jennifer E. Manning
Information Research Specialist
jmanning@crs.loc.gov, 7-7565
Acknowledgments
Maeve Carey, Analyst in Government Organization and Management, and R. Sam Garrett, Analyst in
American National Government provided technical and research support. Dana Ely, Information Research
Specialist, provided research support.
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