| 2021 United States Capitol car attack | |
|---|---|
_(cropped)).jpg) The Capitol's Constitution Avenuecheckpoint, where the attack occurred (photo taken in July 2009) | |
  North barricade | |
| Location | United States Capitol,Washington, D.C., United States |
| Coordinates | 38°53′30″N77°00′30″W / 38.8916°N 77.0083°W /38.8916; -77.0083 |
| Date | April 2, 2021 1:00 p.m. (EDT) |
Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack |
| Weapons | Nissan Altima |
| Deaths | 2 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 1 |
| Victim | William Evans |
| Perpetrator | Noah Ricardo Green[1] |
| Motive | Black nationalism[2] |
On April 2, 2021, Noah Green, a 25-year-oldblack nationalist, killedCapitol Police officer William Evans and wounded a second officer after hedeliberately rammed his car into abarricade outside theUnited States Capitol inWashington, D.C.[3][4][5] As a result of the attack, the Capitol complex was locked down.[6] Green was shot and later died at a hospital from the gunshot wounds.[7][2] Green shared extremist viewpoints advanced by theNation of Islam and other black nationalists prior to committing his attack at the Capitol.[2]
On April 2, Officer Billy Evans was posted at acheckpoint onConstitution Avenue usually used by senators and staff members on weekdays, about 100 yards (91 m) from the entrance of the building on the Senate side.[4] At about 1:00 p.m., a man deliberately crashed a blueNissan Altima into the barricade.[8][9] The vehicle struck Evans and another officer; Evans was hospitalized and died from his injuries.[10] After ramming the two officers, the driver exited the vehicle with a knife, lunged at officers, and ignored verbal commands before being shot by police.[11][10] The perpetrator was arrested, hospitalized, and died of his wounds soon afterward.[12]
The Capitol was placed on lockdown after the attack andstaff were told toshelter in place, while members of theNational Guard's Immediate Reaction Force mobilized near the checkpoint.[4][13] The lockdown was lifted later that day.[14]
William Francis Evans | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Born | (1980-02-18)February 18, 1980 North Adams, Massachusetts, United States |
| Died | April 2, 2021(2021-04-02) (aged 41) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Education | Drury High School |
| Police career | |
| Department | United States Capitol Police |
| Service years | 18 |
William "Billy" Evans was the Capitol Police officer killed during the attack.[15] He served for 18 years with theUnited States Capitol Police, and was a member of the first responder unit.[16] He was the sixth Capitol Police officer todie in the line of duty since the force was created in 1828.[17][18]
The assailant was Noah Ricardo Green, age 25,[7][19] who was born on February 8, 1996, inFairlea, West Virginia, into a family with ten children.[19] He grew up inCovington, Virginia, in thesouthwestern part of the state and graduated fromAlleghany High School.[20] In high school, he played football and participated in track and field.[20] He attendedGlenville State College before transferring[7] toChristopher Newport University (CNU) inNewport News, Virginia, where he was adefensive back on thefootball team.[19][20]
People who knew Green described him as athletic and popular inhigh school andcollege,[19][20] but after he graduated from CNU, he became deeplyparanoid, leaving family and friends concerned that his mental state was unraveling.[19][21] A U.S. official said Green increasingly suffereddelusions, paranoia, andsuicidal thoughts.[5]
Family and friends said Green believed people had drugged him withXanax, leaving him with addiction andwithdrawal symptoms. After moving into an apartment in Newport News, he reported hallucinations, headaches, heart palpitations, and suicidal thoughts. One day, admittedly inspired by drugs, he abruptly abandoned his apartment in Newport News and moved toIndianapolis. While there, he told his brother he believed his apartment was being broken into by intruders. His brother said he appeared to be mentally disturbed.[19]
Green also wrote in Facebook posts shortly before the attack that "these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher" and that he had quit his job "partly due to my afflictions".[7][19] He posted about theend times and theAntichrist.[7] In a March 15 post, he encouraged "everyone to study Revelations [recteRevelation], study the signs of end times, study who the best [rectebeast] is, study who the anti-Christ is, study who the false prophet is, and study the created images during those times."[22] Two days later, he made a post possibly referring to his claim of being drugged by teammates, blaming the drugging for steering him off the "right track".[19]
Green became a follower of theNation of Islam (NOI), aBlack nationalist organization, and its leaderLouis Farrakhan.[7][21][23] OnFacebook, he posted messages in support of the NOI, as well as speeches and articles by Farrakhan and his predecessorElijah Muhammad.[7][19] He petitioned tochange his name to Noah Zaeem Muhammad in December 2020, but did not attend the name change hearing in Indianapolis, which was held four days before the attack.[24] He also posted a Farrakhan video titled "the crucifixion ofMichael Jackson" on March 21.[22] In posts the week before the attack, he wrote that he believed Farrakhan had saved him "after the terrible afflictions I have suffered presumably by theCIA andFBI, government agencies of the United States of America" and claimed that "I have suffered multiple home break-ins,food poisonings, assaults, unauthorized operations in the hospital, [and] mind control."[25][26]
According to his brother, a few months before the attack, Green left Indianapolis and moved toBotswana, where he told his brother that "his mind was telling him to basicallycommit suicide." He jumped in front of a car, seriously injuring himself, then returned to the U.S., where he moved in with his brother.[19] Two weeks before the attack, Green posted a photo of a "Certificate of Completion" for a $1,085 donation he had made,[7][20] under the name "Noah X,"[24] to the Nation of Islam'sNorfolk, Virginia chapter forSaviours' Day, along with a link to a Farrakhan speech called "The Divine Destruction of America".[7][20] The night before the attack, he became violently ill and texted his brother, "I'm just going to go and live and behomeless."[19]
Investigators believe Green's attack was caused by a combination of his mental health issues and an ideological cause which he believed justified violence.[23] He was not known to police before the attack and had no known connection to a member of Congress.[10]
Acting Capitol Police chiefYogananda Pittman said the attack "has been an extremely difficult time" for her police force, especially in the aftermath of theJanuary 6 Capitol attack.[10]
Many members of Congress praised the actions of the Capitol Police, the National Guard, and otherfirst responders; and they also offered condolences to the police force and the family of the slain police officer.[27][28]Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi called Evans a "martyr for democracy"[8] and ordered the flags at the Capitol to be lowered tohalf-staff in his memory.[29] She offered her condolences and support to Evans' mother and two children.[8]
PresidentJoe Biden said he and First LadyJill Biden "were heartbroken to learn of the violent attack"; expressed condolences to Officer Evans' family and other bereaved; and expressed "the nation's gratitude to the Capitol Police, the National Guard Immediate Response Force, and others who quickly responded to this attack".[12][30][31] He ordered flags lowered tohalf-staff at the White House and all public buildings, as a sign of respect for the service and sacrifice of Capitol Police officers.[32]
Green's family issued a statement, saying they "were just as taken aback as the rest of the nation from this horrific event" and "feel great sympathy" for the police officers attacked. Green was "not aterrorist by any means", had "depression and potential mental illness", and "hardships with his peers" that began afterrepeated head trauma from playing football.[33]
After the attack, the Nation of Islam distanced itself from Green.[34] The group said that while Green sought to become a member of their organization, he was not a registered member of the Nation of Islam. It appears that in late summer (August–September) of 2020, he started the process to begin his study to become a member, but he did not complete the process.[34][35] The group said Green's act "violates our teachings" and they "absolutely disavow this act that resulted in the senseless loss of life".[35]
Investigators believed that Mr. Green was influenced by a combination of underlying mental health issues and a connection to an ideological cause that, he believed, provided justification to commit violence