United States Capitol

==Security==
The U.S. Capitol is believed to have been the intended target of [[United Airlines Flight 93]], one of the four planes that were hijacked in the [[September 11 attacks]]. The plane crashed near [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]] after passengers tried to regain control of the plane from the hijackers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Al-Jazeera offers accounts of 9/11 planning|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220124318/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html|archive-date=February 20, 2006|access-date=June 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec1.pdf Report of the 9/11 Commission] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206003448/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec1.pdf|date=December 6, 2006}}, US Govt Printing Office</ref>

Since the September 11 attacks, the roads and grounds around the Capitol have undergone dramatic changes. The United States Capitol Police have also installed checkpoints to inspect vehicles at specific locations around Capitol Hill,<ref>{{cite press release|title=Increased Security on Capitol Grounds|publisher=United States Capitol Police|date=August 2, 2004|url=http://www.uscapitolpolice.gov/pressreleases/2004/pr_08-02-04.html|access-date=September 26, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101074343/http://www.uscapitolpolice.gov/pressreleases/2004/pr_08-02-04.html|archive-date=November 1, 2006|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="street closing">{{cite news|author=Lyndsey Layton and Manny Fernandez|date=August 3, 2004|title=Street Closing Irks D.C. Leaders: Checkpoints Set Up Near World Bank, IMF and Capitol|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33730-2004Aug2.html|access-date=September 26, 2006}}</ref> and have closed a section of one street indefinitely.<ref name="street closing" /> The level of screening employed varies. On the main east–west thoroughfares of [[Constitution Avenue|Constitution]] and [[Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)|Independence Avenue]]s, [[barricade]]s are implanted in the roads that can be raised in the event of an emergency. Trucks larger than [[Pickup truck|pickups]] are interdicted by the Capitol Police and are instructed to use other routes. On the checkpoints at the shorter cross streets, the barriers are typically kept in a permanent "emergency" position, and only vehicles with special permits are allowed to pass. All Capitol visitors are screened by a [[magnetometer]], and all items that visitors may bring inside the building are screened by an [[X-ray generator|x-ray device]]. In both chambers, gas masks are located underneath the chairs in each chamber for members to use in case of emergency. Structures ranging from scores of [[Jersey barrier]]s to hundreds of ornamental [[bollard]]s have been erected to obstruct the path of any vehicles that might stray from the designated roadways.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 29, 2006|title=Ubiquitous Security Barriers Get a Fashionable Flourish |first1=Petula |last1=Dvorak |newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/28/AR2006012801056.html|access-date=November 5, 2010}}</ref>

After the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]], security increased again. Additional security fences were installed around the perimeter, and [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] troops were deployed to bolster security.

=== List of security incidents ===
{{main|Timeline of violent incidents at the United States Capitol}}
* On January 30, 1835, what is believed to be the first attempt to kill a sitting President of the United States occurred just outside the United States Capitol. As President [[Andrew Jackson]] was leaving the Capitol out of the East Portico after the funeral of [[South Carolina]] Representative [[Warren R. Davis]], [[Richard Lawrence (failed assassin)|Richard Lawrence]], an unemployed and deranged housepainter from England, either burst from a crowd or stepped out from hiding behind a column and aimed a pistol at Jackson which misfired. Lawrence then pulled out a second pistol which also misfired. It has since been postulated that the moisture from the humid weather of the day contributed to the double misfiring.<ref name="AmericanHeritage.com">{{cite web | title=Trying to Assassinate Andrew Jackson | author=Jon Grinspan | url=http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070130-richard-lawrence-andrew-jackson-assassination-warren-r-davis.shtml |date=January 30, 2007 |website=American Heritage | access-date=November 11, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024234731/http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070130-richard-lawrence-andrew-jackson-assassination-warren-r-davis.shtml | archive-date=October 24, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Lawrence was then restrained, with legend saying that Jackson attacked Lawrence with his cane, prompting his aides to restrain him. Others present, including [[Davy Crockett]], restrained and disarmed Lawrence.
* On April 23, 1844, then House-Speaker [[John White (Kentucky politician)|John White]] was involved in a physical confrontation on the House floor with Democratic Congressman [[George O. Rathbun]] of New York. White was delivering a speech in defense of Senator [[Henry Clay]], the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] nominee for president in that year's presidential election, and objected to a ruling from the Speaker denying him time to conclude his remarks. When Rathbun told White to be quiet, White confronted him and their disagreement lead to a fistfight between the two with dozens of their colleagues rushing to break up the fight. During the disturbance, an unknown visitor fired a pistol into the crowd, wounding a police officer. Both White and Rathbun subsequently apologized for their actions.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2sNp1l1pNroC&pg=PT81 Long, Kim. "''The Almanac of Political Corruption, Scandals & Dirty Politics'', (2008).] {{ISBN|0307481344}}.</ref>
* On July 2, 1915, prior to the United States' entry into [[World War I]], [[Eric Muenter]], also known as Frank Holt, a [[Germans|German]] professor who wanted to stop American support of the [[Allies of World War I]], exploded a bomb in the reception room of the U.S. Senate. The next morning he tried to assassinate [[J. P. Morgan Jr.]], son of [[J. P. Morgan|the financier]], at his home on [[Long Island]], New York. [[J.P. Morgan & Co.|J.P. Morgan's company]] served as Great Britain's principal U.S. purchasing agent for [[Ammunition|munitions]] and other war supplies. In a letter to the ''[[Washington Star|Washington Evening Star]]'' published after the explosion, Muenter, writing under an assumed name, said he hoped that the detonation would "make enough noise to be heard above the voices that clamor for war".
* In the [[1954 United States Capitol shooting]], Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on members of Congress from the visitors' gallery, injuring five representatives.
* On March 1, 1971, a bomb exploded on the ground floor of the Capitol, placed by the [[far-left]] [[Domestic terrorism in the United States|domestic terrorist]] group the [[Weather Underground Organization|Weather Underground]]. They [[List of Weatherman actions|placed the bomb]] as a demonstration against U.S. involvement in [[Laos]].
* On November 7, 1983, in the [[1983 United States Senate bombing]], a group called the Armed Resistance Unit claimed responsibility for a bomb that detonated in the lobby outside the office of [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Minority Leader]] [[Robert Byrd]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Capitol Bombing: Group Hit Other Targets, FBI Believes | author=Kessler, Ronald | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=November 9, 1983}}</ref> Six people associated with the [[John Brown Anti-Klan Committee]] were later found in [[contempt of court]] for refusing to testify about the bombing.<ref>{{cite news | title=Judge Finds Four in Contempt in Bombing Probe | author=Seppy, Tom | agency=Associated Press | date=February 12, 1985}}</ref> In 1990, three members of the Armed Resistance Unit were convicted of the bombing, which they claimed was in response to the [[invasion of Grenada]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Three Leftists Plead Guilty to Bombing the U.S. Capitol | author=Rowley, James | agency=Associated Press | date=September 7, 1990}}</ref>
* In the [[1998 United States Capitol shooting]], Russell Eugene Weston Jr. burst into the Capitol and opened fire, killing two [[United States Capitol Police|Capitol Police]] officers, Officer Jacob Chestnut and Det. John Gibson.
* In 2004, the Capitol was briefly evacuated after a plane carrying the then-[[Governor of Kentucky]], [[Ernie Fletcher]], strayed into restricted airspace above the district.
* In 2013, Miriam Carey, 34, a dental hygienist from [[Stamford, Connecticut]], attempted to drive through a [[White House]] security checkpoint in her black [[Infiniti G37]] coupe, struck a [[United States Secret Service|U.S. Secret Service]] officer, and was chased by the Secret Service to the United States Capitol where she was [[Killing of Miriam Carey|fatally shot by law enforcement officers]].
* A shooting incident occurred in March 2016. One female bystander was wounded by police but not seriously injured; a man pointing a gun was shot and arrested, in critical but stable condition.<ref name="NYTMar16">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/us/politics/us-capitol-lockdown.html|title=U.S. Capitol on Lockdown After Reports of Gunshots|author=Michael S. Schmidt|date=March 28, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> The city police of Washington D.C. described the shooting incident as "isolated".<ref name="BBCMar16">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35911754|title=US Capitol shooting: Gunman wounds Capitol police officer|date=March 28, 2016|work=BBC News Online|access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:2021 storming of the United States Capitol 09 (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]]]]
* On January 6, 2021, during the [[2021 United States Electoral College vote count|counting of Electoral College votes]] for the [[2020 United States presidential election]], a pro-[[Donald Trump|Trump]] rally resulted in a mob that [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|entered the Capitol]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dozier |first1=Kimberly |last2=Bergengruen |first2=Vera |title=Incited by the President, Trump Supporters Storm the Capitol |url=https://time.com/5926883/trump-supporters-storm-capitol/ |publisher=TIME |date=January 7, 2021 |quote='If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,' Trump had told the crowd, urging them to head to the Capitol. |access-date=January 8, 2021 }}</ref> The rioters unlawfully entered the Capitol during the [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint session of Congress]] certifying the election of President-elect [[Joe Biden]] and Vice President-elect [[Kamala Harris]], temporarily disrupting the proceedings. This triggered a lockdown in the building.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/buildings-in-us-capitol-complex-evacuated-amid-pro-trump-protests.html|title=Rioters storm Capitol after Trump urges action, halting declaration of Biden victory|author=Amanda Macias|publisher=CNBC|website=cnbc.com|date=January 6, 2021|access-date=January 6, 2021}}</ref> Vice President [[Mike Pence]], Speaker of the House [[Nancy Pelosi]], and other staff members were evacuated, while others were instructed to barricade themselves inside offices and closets.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Khalil|first1=Ashraf|last2=Balsamo|first2=Michael|last3=Press|first3=Associated|date=2021-01-06|title=1 reportedly shot as angry pro-Trump protesters swarm Capitol, lawmakers put on gas masks {{!}} WATCH LIVE|url=https://abc7.com/9405310/|access-date=2021-01-06|website=ABC7 Los Angeles|language=en}}</ref> The rioters breached the Senate Chamber and multiple staff offices, including the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/man-who-posed-at-pelosi-desk-said-in-facebook-post-that-he-is-prepared-for-violent-death/2021/01/07/cf5b0714-509a-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html|title=Man who posed at Pelosi desk said in Facebook post that he is prepared for violent death|first=Jon|last=Swaine|via=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=January 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/532969-pelosis-office-vandalized-after-pro-trump-rioters-storm-capitol/ |title=Pelosi's office vandalized after pro-Trump rioters storm Capitol |date=January 6, 2021 |access-date=January 6, 2021}}</ref> One person was shot by law enforcement, and later succumbed to the injury.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1 shot dead, Congress evacuated, National Guard activated after pro-Trump rioters storm Capitol|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/electoral-college-certification-updates-n1252864|access-date=2021-01-06|website=www.nbcnews.com}}</ref> President-elect [[Joe Biden]] criticized the violence as "insurrection" and said democracy was "under unprecedented assault" as a result of the attack.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55568621 |title=Capitol riots: Congress certifies Joe Biden's victory after chaotic scenes |work=BBC News |date=January 7, 2021 |access-date=January 7, 2021 }}</ref> The attack resulted in the death of four rioters, including a woman who was shot as she attempted to breach the Capitol.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Authorities Identify Woman Killed By Police During U.S. Capitol Rioting|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/01/07/954446008/authorities-identify-woman-killed-by-police-during-u-s-capitol-rioting|access-date=2021-01-22|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref> The events ultimately led to the [[Second impeachment of Donald Trump|second impeachment]] of Donald Trump.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Tim |title=Donald Trump impeached for historic second time over deadly riots at US Capitol |url=https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-impeached-for-historic-second-time-over-deadly-riots-at-us-capitol-12186948 |website=Sky News |publisher=Sky UK |access-date=January 13, 2021 }}</ref> It was the first time the Capitol had been violently seized since the [[Burning of Washington]], during the [[War of 1812]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/donald-trump-electoral-college-riot-us-capitol/index.html |title=Analysis: Why it's too late for Republicans to say sorry |website=[[CNN]] |date=January 7, 2021 |access-date=January 7, 2021 }}</ref>
* On April 2, 2021, a black nationalist [[United States Capitol car attack|rammed a car into barriers outside the Capitol]], hitting several Capitol Police Officers before exiting his vehicle and attempting to attack others with a knife. An officer hit by the attacker's car died shortly thereafter. The attacker was shot by Capitol Police and later died of his injuries.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Cohen|first1=Zachary|date=April 2, 2021|title=Capitol Police officer killed, another injured after suspect rams car into police barrier outside building|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/02/politics/us-capitol-incident/index.html|access-date=2021-04-02|website=CNN|first2=Lauren|last2=Fox|first3=Jessica|last3=Dean|first4=David|last4=Shortell}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Suspect in deadly US Capitol attack was Farrakhan follower, raged against gov't  |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/suspect-in-us-capitol-attack-was-follower-of-farrakhan-raged-against-government/amp/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=The Times of Israel |date=April 3, 2021}}</ref>