In 1981, as President Ronald Reagan announced that it was “morning in America” and as the radical left wing movements of the 1970s receded further, a new terrorist organization consisting of six women – veterans of the protest movements against the Vietnam War and U.S. imperialism, and for black and Native American liberation, came together to wage war under the name M19. In his new book Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol: The Explosive Story of America’s First Female Terrorist Group, William Rosenau tells their story – how they carried out some of the most daring operaitons in the history of domestic terrorism, including prison breakouts, robberies, and a bombing campaign at the nation’s capitol. Rosenau uses original photos and declassified FBI documents among other sources to tell the once-hidden story and draw out its lessons for an era in which domestic terrorism and the role of gender in terrorism is again being discussed.

William Rosenau, PhD, is a fellow with New America’s International Security program and a senior research scientist at CNA who has worked with RAND, as a counterterrorism adviser at the State Department, and as a staffer on the U.S. Senate terrorism subcommittee.

Join the conversation online using #M19Story and following @NewAmericaISP.

Participants:

William Rosenau
Fellow, New America’s International Security program
Author, Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol

Moderator:

Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn
Vice President, New America