During a standoff related to the Montas affair, a pro-Sylvain Salnave mob entered the chamber of deputies and expelled all its representatives. Chairs and tables were broken and portraits were damaged.[2][3]
German-American activist, spy and former Harvard University professor Eric Muenter hid a package containing three sticks of dynamite and a timer under a telephone switchboard in the U.S. Capitol's Senate reception room. The bomb exploded at 11:40 p.m., causing no casualties or injuries.[6] Muenter, who at that time was living under the guise of Stanford professor "Frank Holt" after killing his pregnant wife in 1906, then bombed the SS Minnehaha in New York City and shot J. P. Morgan Jr. in the span of the next 24 hours.[7][8] According to Muenter, his actions were in order to prevent United States involvement in World War I.[9]
Indian nationalists Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two bombs and leaflets inside the Central Legislative Assembly (the lower house of the British Indian legislature) in New Delhi in protest over the Trade Disputes and the Public Safety Bill being presented in the Assembly and the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.[11] Few sustained injuries in the explosion and there were no deaths, which Singh and Dutt claimed was intentional.[12] Singh was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, but was executed after additional charges were brought, while Dutt was also sentenced to life but was later released.
Arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin. The day after the fire, the Reichstag Fire Decree was passed. The Nazi Party used the fire as a pretext to claim that communists were plotting against the German government, which made the fire pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.
Violent demonstrations outside the Palais Bourbon by members of far-right groups in opposition to the coalition government of Édouard Daladier, resulting in the deaths of 15 demonstrators at the hands of police.
During a constitutional crisis between President Dumarsais Estimé and the Senate, a pro-Estimé mob invaded the Senate, completely destroyed it, and looted its items as trophies. Faced with this situation, the Haitian army intervened with a coup.[17]
Moshe Dwek entered Frumin House and lobbed a grenade into the Knesset chamber which exploded. Among those injured were the Minister of Transportation, Moshe Carmel, the Minister of Religion, Haim-Moshe Shapira, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Foreign Minister Golda Meir. Dwek, who claimed to have had a grudge against the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Supreme Court was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The incident led to the creation of the Knesset's own security apparatus, the Knesset Guard.[19]
Paul Joseph Chartier died when a bomb he was preparing exploded in a washroom of the Parliament of Canada. It is believed that he was preparing to bomb the House of Commons.
During the Nicaraguan Revolution, Sandinista rebels led by Eden Pastora seized the National Palace in Managua while during a session of Congress, taking 2,000 hostages. Pastora demanded money, the release of Sandinista prisoners, and, "a means of publicizing the Sandinista cause."[24] After two days, the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle agreed to pay $500,000 and to release certain prisoners, ending the siege.[25]
Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero led 200 armed Civil Guard officers into the Congress of Deputies during the vote to elect a President of the Government. The officers held the parliamentarians and ministers hostage for 18 hours, during which time King Juan Carlos I denounced the coup in a televised address, calling for rule of law and the democratic government to continue. Though shots were fired, the hostage-takers surrendered the next morning without killing anyone.
An assailant hurled two grenades into a room where Members of Parliament were meeting. The grenades bounced off the table at which President J. R. Jayawardene and Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa were sitting, and rolled away. A Member of Parliament and a ministry secretary were killed by the explosions. The attacks are attributed to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Sinhalese nationalist militant organization.
1989 Parliament Hill hijacking and hostage incident
On the Champlain Bridge near Montreal, Charles Yacoub used a gun to hijack a Greyhound Montreal to New York City intercity bus, taking the driver and passengers hostage and ordering the bus to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. A hostage standoff ensued on the lawn of the legislature for several hours. Yacoub released the remaining hostages and surrendered to police that evening. He later stated his goal was to draw attention to civilian deaths in the Lebanese Civil War.[27]
Intermovement (a hardline, anti-Perestroika, pro-Soviet organisation consisting mostly of ethnic Russians) held a mass gathering in front of Toompea Castle in the capital Tallinn, breaking into the courtyard and escalating into an attempt to take over the parliament building; although they failed to reach the chambers.[28] Prime Minister of the Interim Estonian Government, Edgar Savisaar, asked people to defend the legislature in a radio call.[28] Thousands of Estonians responded, assembled by the parliament building and forced the unarmed anti-independence protesters to leave the site after some three hours with no reported significant injuries.[28] An estimated 5,000 people took part in the storming of the legislature.[28]
Members of the radical Islamist group Jamaat al Muslimeen tried to overthrow the government and seized media outlets and the Red House, the seat of the country's Parliament in Port-of-Spain, taking Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson hostage along with most of his cabinet. Robinson was shot and injured by the insurgents, while MP Leo Des Vignes later died of his injuries. The takeover ended on 1 August after the rebels, who had been isolated by the army, agreed to surrender in exchange for an amnesty.[29]
Political stand-off between Russian presidentBoris Yeltsin and the Russian legislature that was resolved by military force. The relations between the president and the parliament had been deteriorating for some time, reached its crisis on 21 September, when Yeltsin intended to dissolve the country's highest body (Congress of People's Deputies) and parliament (Supreme Soviet). On 3 October, demonstrators removed police cordons around the parliament and, urged by their leaders, took over the Mayor's offices and tried to storm the Ostankino television centre. The Russian Army, which had initially declared its neutrality, stormed the Russian White House in the early morning hours of 4 October by Yeltsin's order, and arrested the leaders of the resistance.[30][31]
Up to 2,000 students occupied the People's Representative Council demanding an end to the 32-year dictatorship of President Suharto. After he resigned on 21 May, the students were evicted by the army without serious injury.[33]
Hardline I-Taukeis led by George Speight stormed the country's parliament and took Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and all but one member of his cabinet hostage. During captivity, Chaudhry was removed from office on 27 May by President Kamisese Mara, who was in turn deposed in a coup on 29 May by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, commander of the Royal Fiji Military Forces. Although hostages were gradually released, the ensuing standoff created a political crisis that ended with Speight releasing the remaining hostages in exchange for an amnesty and the accession of Josefa Iloilo to the presidency on 13 July.
Protesters demanding the resignation of President Slobodan Milošević stormed the Federal Assembly in Belgrade, smashing glass, throwing documents from windows and setting several fires on the ground floor despite police firing tear gas from inside the building.[39]
Protesters occupied the Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Chamber in Rio de Janeiro city, causing riot police to be called in. Three protesters were injured by gunfire, reportedly by police forces, while ten others were hospitalized.[50]
A crowd of about 1,500 demonstrators protesting against plans by President Blaise Compaoré to extend his rule stormed the National Assembly building in Ouagadougou and set the structure on fire along with documents and nearby cars, while stealing computer equipment.[54]
As a response to a constitutional amendment that would permit PresidentHoracio Cartes to run for re-election,[58] protests broke out in Asunción against the legislation. During the protests, the windows were broken and Congress was set on fire by protesters. Fencing surrounding the compound was also removed. Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators.[59]
Police and soldiers protesting unpaid allowances from the APEC summit held a few days prior stormed the National Parliament House in Port Moresby, damaging property and assaulting parliamentary staff before they were dispersing following promises by government ministers to release their payments.[66]
Siege, break-in, and subsequent occupation of the Legislative Council Complex by anti-government activists during the campaign to halt the enactment of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill. Hundreds of protesters broke through the glass walls and metal doors and entered the building, ransacked and vandalised the interior with anti-government and anti-PRC slogans. It is considered a watershed event in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.[67] Nine days later, on 9 July, the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, announced that the extradition bill was "dead".[68]
Protesters demonstrating against electoral fraud during parliamentary elections held on 4 October and demanding the resignation of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov stormed the Jogorku Kenesh building in Bishkek, scattering papers and setting parts of the building on fire.[73]
Protesters demonstrating against Armenia's defeat in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stormed the National Assembly, making speeches in the main hall and destroying equipment in some offices before being escorted out by police.[74]
Hundreds of anti-government protesters vandalized and set fire to parts of the empty Congressbuilding, before being dispersed by riot police after about ten minutes. The attack came amid protests against a budget bill presented by President Alejandro Giammattei that was approved by the legislature.[75]
A delusional man rammed a car into a barricade outside of the United States Capitol.[81] The perpetrator and a police officer were killed, and another officer was injured.[82]
At 5:00 am, a 49 year-old man started a fire on the third floor of the National Council of Provinces building which spread to several other parts of the parliamentary complex, causing significant damage before being extinguished. The suspect later claimed he wanted to prevent President Cyril Ramaphosa from delivering his annual State of the Nation address, and to demand his resignation.[83]
Anti vaccine and anti mandate protesters combined with far right extremists occupied the grounds of the New Zealand Parliament for 24 days.[84] Tents were set up, Parliament grounds were dug up in what culminated on 2 March into a confrontation between police and protesters that turned violent. Tents and the parliamentary playground was set alight. 40 police officers were injured when paving bricks among other objects were used against police who were conducting a tactical operation to end the occupation.[85][86]
Protesters demonstrating against the appointment of a replacement for outgoing Nuevo Leon state governor Samuel García entered the state congress in Monterrey and set off a smoke bomb inside the chamber.[89]
Two antigovernment protestors jumped from the visitors’ gallery of the Lok Sabha into the MPs’ seating area carrying small canisters that emitted yellow smoke before being apprehended along with two accomplices by MPs, parliamentary security guards and Delhi police.[90]
Protesters demonstrating against proposed judicial reforms that would require all judges to be directly elected stormed the Federal Senate in Mexico City.[93]
Protesters demonstrating against an agreement allowing greater investment by Russians stormed the People's Assembly building in Sukhumi and occupied the chamber, while a vehicle rammed the complex's gates. At least two people were injured.[94] On 19 November, Abkhazian president Aslan Bzhania resigned as part of an agreement for protesters to leave the building.[95]
^"Man Who Shot J. P. Morgan Twice Admits Setting Bomb At National Capital". Hartford Courant. 4 July 1915. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2009. Former German Instructor At Cornell Talks Freely After Third Degree Is Used, and Says He Wanted To Stop Shipment of Munitions To Europe. Is Suspected of Other, Similar Crimes. Describes Construction of Rare Type of 'Infernal Machine'. Financier Reported in Excellent Condition. Has Two Bullet Wounds In His Hip.
^Smith, Matthew J. (2009). Red & Black in Haiti: Radicalism, Conflict, and Political Change, 1934-1957. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 146–147.
^Anthony Boadle (2 October 2013). "Brazilian police stop Indians from storming Congress". Reuters. During a similar protest in April, members of some 70 tribes barged into the lower house of Congress, delaying a debate on indigenous policy. Brazilian police, who have faced bouts of social unrest since the country experienced massive protests in June against corruption and poor government services, were less permissive this time.