The Forgotten Bombing at the United States Capitol
Nov. 7, 1983. A group of female, left-wing radicals plotted to kill Henry Kissinger and bomb the U.S. Capitol. While they failed in their attempt to eliminate Kissinger, they were quite successful in detonating a bomb in the north wing of the Capitol. Thankfully, no one was killed in the attack, but the group, dubbed the May 19th Communist Organization, has been largely forgotten over the years.
Left-wing terrorist groups were prominent in the 60’s and 70s, the Weather Underground likely being the most well-known, but their influence and power faded mostly out of existence before the end of the decade. However, three women kept the dream alive into the 80’s — Judy Clark, Marilyn Buck and Susan Rosenberg.
They were all leftist, feminist, communist, domestic terrorists.
Clark’s father was a high-ranking member of the Communist Party USA. Marilyn Buck was radicalized by the SDS and eventually was convicted of firearms related charges and became a fugitive in the late 70’s. Susan Rosenberg, the real person of interest, was also part of the SDS, palled around with other terrorist groups in her prime, and was mentored by Tupac Shakur’s father and the Black Liberation Army.
This wasn’t Rosenberg’s last time being involved with left-wing radical groups.
In 1981, Rosenberg was the getaway drive in the infamous Brink’s murder robbery which killed 2 police officers and a security guard. Then 2 years later, she was involved in the plot to set off a bomb at the U.S. Senate. The U.S. invaded Grenada, a move that was supported by 64% of Americans at the time. However, that event coupled with the bombing in Beirut prompted left-wing militants to take action against Ronald Reagan.
On the night of Nov. 7th, the Senate adjourned shortly after 7PM. At around 10:53PM a phone call was made to the Capitol switchboard saying that there was a bomb near the Chamber that was going to detonate, and that it was in response to the 2 aforementioned events. Approximately 5 minutes later, the bomb exploded, blowing off the doors to Robert Byrd’s (D) door and sending plaster, brick and glass into the Republican cloakroom. The blast caused over $600,000 in damage.
Susan Rosenberg made her way onto the FBIs most-wanted list, and evaded arrest for some time. She was finally detained by police on Nov. 29, 1984. She was caught at a storage facility in New Jersey with an arsenal of guns, a copy of the Anarchist Cookbook and Guerilla Warfare, counterfeit IDs, and over 700 lbs of explosives — enough to blow up the entire town.
Her high-profile court case began in March of 1985. She pleaded innocent, saying, “We are not criminals, we are revolutionary guerillas.” She asked the court to give her the maximum sentence — and they obliged. She was given 58 years for weapons possession and conspiracy. Upon her conviction, she raised her fist (sound familiar?) in defiance and then headed off for prison.
This why I am tremendously leery of anyone who says the Democratic Party is not “left” enough. For some reason, I’m far less concerned about fascism right now.
Rosenberg served 16 years of her 58-year sentence. On January 20th, 2001, President Bill Clinton pardoned her. It was his last day in office.
For the record, Clinton had multiple questionable pardons (like Mel Reynolds, a Democrat from Illinois who was convicted of bank fraud as well as 12 counts of sexual assault of a child, child pornography, and obstruction of justice) and many people were shocked and angered by multiple people on his pardon list.
Rosenberg moved back to New York and found a role at the American Jewish World Service as their communications director. Not bad for a terrorist who just go out of prison. She then worked in academia on and off over the years.
In 2020, she was listed as the vice chairwoman of the board of directors for Thousand Currents, although she’s not on their website anymore, but she is listed on the tax return. This is notable because this is the non-profit that handles all of the financing for Black Lives Matter.
When I told you months ago that BLM was a terrorist organization, I wasn’t lying to you. It’s important to know your history. It’s also why I always encourage everyone to dig deeper than the narrative that the media is selling to you.
Left-wing radicalism is alive and well in the United States, and it’s hidden in plain site. It’s up to you to open your eyes and find it.
