As unprecedented as the scenes at the U.S. Capitol were on Wednesday, the building is no stranger to violence.
One of the most infamous incidents was in the contentious years leading up to the Civil War.
Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner gave a fiery speech attacking slavery. South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks didn’t appreciate that speech and two days later lay in wait outside the Senate chamber.
He proceeded to beat Sumner with a cane so hard the cane broke. Sumner nearly died but eventually recovered. Brooks resigned and returned to South Carolina.
In 1954, four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire inside the House of Representatives. Around 30 shots were fired and five House members were hit.
One was seriously injured, but they all recovered.
The Puerto Rican nationalist were all arrested and given long sentences. Years later they were pardoned and returned to Puerto Rico.
In 1998 an armed man charged past Capitol security and opened fire, killing two Capitol Hill police officers. It’s not clear why the suspect, Russell Eugene Weston Jr., went on the attack.
He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and found incompetent to stand trial. He remains in a mental institution to this day.
The riots of Jan. 6, 2021, will now be added to that list of violence at the U.S. Capitol.
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