Incident Summary:
07/01/1976: The Essex County Courthouse was bombed in Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States, by four men who were members of the Fred Hampton Unit of the People's Forces. The explosion occurred in the second-floor probation office and caused severe damage including a 10-foot hole in the floor, windows shattered and damage to the outside brick wall, but no casualties resulted from this incident. The bombing is linked to the an explosive attack on the Dorchester Army National Guard in Boston as well as the destruction of an airliner at Logan International Airport on the same day (197607020008, 197607020009) and also the bombing of a post office in Seabrook, New Hampshire (197607020007). In October 1976, Everett C. Carlson was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for transporting explosives in the three attacks as was Richard J. Picariello in February 1977, and in March 1977, Edward P. Gullion was also convicted and awaiting sentencing; Joseph Aceto was also responsible for the attacks and pleaded guilty in September 1976 and subsequently became a government witness in the later trials.
Overview
GTD ID:
197607010002
When:
1976-07-01
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Massachusetts
City:
Newburyport
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Essex County government |
Specific Description |
Essex County courthouse |
Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Dynamite/TNT |
Weapon Details |
20 to 25 sticks of dynamite taped together and equipped with a blasting cap wired to a battery and a pocket watch as a timer |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Additional Information |
The bombing is linked to the an explosive attack on the Dorchester Army National Guard in Boston as well as the destruction of an airliner at Logan International Airport on the same day (197607020008, 197607020009), and also the bombing of a post office in New Hampshire (197607020007). In October 1976, Everett C. Carlson was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for transporting explosives in the three attacks as was Richard J. Picariello in February 1977, and in March 1977, Edward P. Gullion was also convicted and awaiting sentencing; Joseph Aceto was also responsible for the attacks and pleaded guilty in September 1976 and subsequently became a government witness in the later trials. Aceto also had ties to the United Freedom Front, as he met Ray Levasseur . |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
4 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
4 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"New England bombing suspects indicted," Facts on File World News Digest, October 23, 1976. |
Edward Schumacher, "Boston Police Tense After 3 Explosions," The Washington Post, July 3, 1976. |
"Bomb Suspects Face Joint Trial," New York Times, November 11, 1976. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties