On this day, July 2, in 1919, a bomb exploded in front of the home of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in the District.
Around 11:15 p.m., anarchist Carlos Valdinoci carried the explosive, along with written declaration of war on capitalism and the government, to Palmer’s Dupont Circle home at 2132 R Street NW.
The bomb went off accidently, destroying the front of the home, and blowing Valdinoci’s body parts across the neighborhood.
Around the same time, bombs blew up in eight cities around the U.S., fueling fear that communists planned to overthrow the government.
Palmer, with the help of a young J. Edgar Hoover, ordered the round-up of thousands of radical leftists in what is known as the Palmer Raids.
