Democrats and the left-wing media are fond of saying that the disturbance at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th was the “worst thing that has happened in the Capitol since it was burned by the British in 1814. But is that true?
The protesters on January 6th broke windows and damaged doors. They entered both the House and Senate chambers and several offices, including that of Nancy Pelosi. They fought with police in various areas. One person was killed – an unarmed woman shot by a Capitol Police officer.
The incident was tragic but was it the worst since 1814?
On March 1, 1954, four members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party entered the House chamber with handguns. They unfurled a Puerto Rican flag and opened fire indiscriminately, wounding five members of Congress.
On November 7, 1983, a bomb tore through the second floor of the House North wing. It was planted by members of a group called the “Armed Resistance Unit,” who called the switchboard minutes before the blast to warn people. It did significant damage to the building.
On March 1, 1971, the Weather Underground planted a bomb in a men's room directly below the Senate chamber. The bomb destroyed the restroom and caused the doors of the Senate barbershop to disconnect from the frame and fly through a window into a courtyard.
On July 24, 1998, a visitor to the Capitol building set off a metal detector. He immediately pulled out a gun and killed the officer on duty at the metal detector, then wounded a second officer and a civilian. He then made his way to an office used by Congressman Tom Delay where he shot and killed a Capitol Police detective.
In my opinion, vandalism and trespassing are not quite as serious as the murders of two Capitol Police, nor the shooting of five House members in the chamber. The January protesters did not kill anyone. Some officers were injured during the melee but the only person killed was killed at the hands of police. (And that still has yet to be explained.)
The protest that day wasn't worse than bombs going off inside the building, in my opinion. Bombs do more damage than breaking windows and damaging doors.
People say “It was insurrection, an assault on our democracy.” But it wasn't. It was a “mostly peaceful” protest in which some people got carried away.
I read an article this morning in which a history professor said the reason the January incident was worse is because “it was done by a large group.” Personally, I'd rather have a large group vandalizing things than one or two people with guns killing and wounding people, or people blowing things up. But that's me.
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