Domestic Terrorism – August 24, 1970
Prior to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the largest act of domestic terrorism occurred in Madison, Wisconsin. On August 24, 1970, a massive predawn explosion caused extensive damage to Sterling Hall on the University of Wisconsin campus. Four members of an antiwar group known as the New Years Gang claimed responsibility for the bombing in protest over the war in Vietnam and apparently to boost antiwar sentiment after the Kent State National Guard shootings that took place earlier that year.
The truck bomb that was detonated next to the Army Mathematics Research Center, in a driveway of Sterling Hall, caused $6 million in damage to surrounding buildings, and the blast was heard over 30 miles away. The New Years Gang set the one-ton fertilizer bomb to go off at 3:24 on a Sunday morning during summer break, thinking that the buildings would be unoccupied at that time. They were wrong.
Robert Fassnacht, a physics post-doctorial student, was working late that evening to finish an experiment. Mr. Fassnacht, a 33 year old father of three and a self proclaimed anti-war proponent, became the only casualty in the Sterling Hall bombing.
The tragic and senseless death of Robert Fassnacht had an immediate impact on the peace-loving members of the antiwar movement. It marked the day when the anti-war, anti-killing movement proved that they could become killers themselves.
The four perpetrators escaped to Canada after the bombing, but three were eventually captured and ended up serving rather short jail terms. Leo Burt, the fourth member of the group, has been on the run ever since. For forty years the FBI has followed many leads, in many countries, to no avail. Below is an FBI computer-enhanced photo of Leo Burt, showing how he may look today. There is a $150,000 reward offered to anyone having knowledge of Leo Burt’s whereabouts. Does he look familiar?
If there is any redeemable message to be taken from the Sterling Hall bombing, it is that members of activist groups need to recognize that there is an acceptable moral limit to protest. Once a non-violent movement becomes violent, the principle purpose of the organization is lost.
The Sterling Hall bombing split the ‘70s antiwar movement into two groups. Most of the members of the movement continued to protest peacefully on college campuses throughout the nation, but a small faction became radicalized and continued with acts of violence, tarnishing the image of the entire movement.
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Comments
The towers weren't "domestic" terrorism unless you are referring to the location.
They were carried out by "foreigners".
Mountain Meadows was done by "americans".
I didn't capitalize "americans" because those murderers in Utah didn't deserve the term.
I would have also felt good about the murderers at Kent St being brought down in kind as well.
They did not deserve to be called Americans due to what they did to REAL Americans.
The FBI website has the Sterling Hall bombing identified, “as the largest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history until the Oklahoma City bombing 25 years later.”
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/august10/sterling_hall_082310.html
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I noticed an article earlier this summer that said that Dwight Armstrong, one of the Sterling Hall bombers, passed away in June:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_5a410ef6-7d8d-11df-893b-001cc4c03286.html
It’s interesting to note that, “In interviews, Armstrong expressed remorse for killing Fassnacht, but he said at the time it was the right thing to do.”
It must have been a heavy mental burden for him to bear for all of those years.
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i sympathize with people who set off bombs in the usa, amurricans in general don't know just what happens when a drone bomb lies in the window. maybe if they had some intimate knowledge it would change their attitude toward 'american interests' in foreign lands. but in fact it doesn't.
the '9/11' assault was immediately labeled religious fanaticism, dismissed as "not the result of american foreign policy" but merely a breakthrough from hell of the devil's minions.
btw, what debars the oklahoma city bomb from your assessment?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster