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Dwight Alan Armstrong (August 29, 1951 – June 20, 2010) was an American anti-Vietnam War activist who helped use a truck bomb to shatter Sterling Hall, a centrally located building on the
"Dwight Armstrong, Who Bombed a College Building in 1970, Dies at 58"
''
The bomb was placed in a stolen van left next to Sterling Hall, a building that housed the Army Mathematics Research Center, as well as the university's physics department. They lit the fuse after checking the windows of Sterling Hall and seeing no activity, assuming that the building was empty. A bomb threat was phoned in to the Madison Police Department, giving five minutes notice of the planned detonation, though previous such calls turned out to be pranks. A police cruiser was dispatched to the site minutes before the explosion. The bomb detonated at 3:42 a.m. on August 24, 1970, killing Robert Fassnacht, a physics post-doctoral researcher who was working late, injuring three others, and causing millions of dollars in damage to the building.
Dwight Armstrong drove away with his brother, Leo F. Burt and David Fine to a truck stop where they celebrated the bombing. When they heard a news report on their car radio that someone had been killed by the explosion, all four went on the run, with Dwight's seven years at large the longest of the four people suspected in the bombing aside from Leo Burt, who is still at large. On September 4, the
"Armstrong faces prison term"
, '' The Milwaukee Journal,'' September 6, 1988. Accessed June 28, 2010. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released in 1991. He came back to Madison, where he tended to his mother and worked driving a taxi. In 2001, he purchased the Radical Rye Deli with Karl.Martell, Chris
"RADICAL REVISITED KARL ARMSTRONG REMAINS A CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE 31 YEARS AFTER THE STERLING HALL BOMBING. THE BUSINESSMAN LIVES AMONG THOSE WHO WILL PROBABLY ALWAYS VIEW HIM WITH CURIOSITY."
'' Wisconsin State Journal,'' December 1, 2001. Accessed June 28, 2010. In a 1992 interview with '' The Capital Times'' of Madison, he stated that "My life has not been something to write home about". He justified the bombing, stating that "We did what we had to do; we did what we felt a lot of other people should have done", continuing that "I don't care what public opinion is; we did what was right." Armstrong died of lung cancer at age 58 on June 20, 2010, at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
campus, on August 24, 1970. Armstrong and three others targeted an army mathematical research center on an upper floor. They considered the University complicit in military research that enabled aggression. The bomb gutted the building, killing one person and injuring three. Armstrong spent several years on the run before being imprisoned.
Armstrong was born on August 29, 1951, in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. He grew up there as "an ordinary Midwestern boy, fond of playing baseball and bicycling around his exurban community" as described by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in his obituary. He dropped out of high school in 10th grade and by 1970 he had joined his brother Karl in actively opposing the American war in Vietnam. In a previous action on New Year's Eve 1969, Dwight and Karl stole a light plane and dropped homemade bombs that failed to explode on an area ordnance factory.Fox, Margalit"Dwight Armstrong, Who Bombed a College Building in 1970, Dies at 58"
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,'' June 26, 2010. Accessed June 28, 2010.
In response to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, in which four protesters were shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard, they conceived of an attack on the Army Mathematics Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, which had been a frequent site of anti-War protests. Karl made a bomb out of dynamite, of fuel oil and of ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
fertilizer.The bomb was placed in a stolen van left next to Sterling Hall, a building that housed the Army Mathematics Research Center, as well as the university's physics department. They lit the fuse after checking the windows of Sterling Hall and seeing no activity, assuming that the building was empty. A bomb threat was phoned in to the Madison Police Department, giving five minutes notice of the planned detonation, though previous such calls turned out to be pranks. A police cruiser was dispatched to the site minutes before the explosion. The bomb detonated at 3:42 a.m. on August 24, 1970, killing Robert Fassnacht, a physics post-doctoral researcher who was working late, injuring three others, and causing millions of dollars in damage to the building.
Dwight Armstrong drove away with his brother, Leo F. Burt and David Fine to a truck stop where they celebrated the bombing. When they heard a news report on their car radio that someone had been killed by the explosion, all four went on the run, with Dwight's seven years at large the longest of the four people suspected in the bombing aside from Leo Burt, who is still at large. On September 4, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
began a search for the four fugitives, placing them on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Armstrong remained underground until he was arrested in April 1977 in Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. He pleaded no contest to state murder charges and federal conspiracy charges. As part of his plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
he was sentenced concurrently to seven years each in state and federal prison and was released on parole in 1980 on the condition that he participate in a community rehabilitation program.
He was arrested again in 1987 in Indiana where he was charged with operating a meth lab
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in Illegal drug trade, illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market. Smalle ...
.Staff"Armstrong faces prison term"
, '' The Milwaukee Journal,'' September 6, 1988. Accessed June 28, 2010. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released in 1991. He came back to Madison, where he tended to his mother and worked driving a taxi. In 2001, he purchased the Radical Rye Deli with Karl.Martell, Chris
"RADICAL REVISITED KARL ARMSTRONG REMAINS A CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE 31 YEARS AFTER THE STERLING HALL BOMBING. THE BUSINESSMAN LIVES AMONG THOSE WHO WILL PROBABLY ALWAYS VIEW HIM WITH CURIOSITY."
'' Wisconsin State Journal,'' December 1, 2001. Accessed June 28, 2010. In a 1992 interview with '' The Capital Times'' of Madison, he stated that "My life has not been something to write home about". He justified the bombing, stating that "We did what we had to do; we did what we felt a lot of other people should have done", continuing that "I don't care what public opinion is; we did what was right." Armstrong died of lung cancer at age 58 on June 20, 2010, at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. He was survived by his mother, his brother, two sisters, and a daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Dwight 1951 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American murderers American anti–Vietnam War activists Deaths from lung cancer in Wisconsin People from Madison, Wisconsin American people convicted of murder American people convicted of drug offenses Bombers (people) FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Terrorism in the United States People convicted of murder by the United States federal government People convicted of murder by Wisconsin