BOMBS EXPLODE IN DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON & LIVE GRENADE FOUND
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On June 16, 1961, The Evening Star reports that "two home-made bombs exploded in downtown Washington last night and this morning."
The first was in a trash cash at the corner of Vermont Avenue & H Street NW while the other was in a telephone booth at 15th Street & Massachusetts Avenue NW.
A "live hand grenade" was also discovered in a gutter at 1766 Florida Avenue NW. No casualties have been reported from the bombs or the grenade but the telephone booth was destroyed.
Police received a phone call from a man "with a Southern accent" who claims he came to the Nation's Capital because that's where the Freedom Rides* originated and he said...
"I'm going to strike a blow against integration."
*Freedom Rides (May 4-Dec 16, 1961) were carried out by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) to challenge segregation on interstate busses & inside bus terminals. Freedom Riders, traveling on busses from Washington, D.C. to Jackson, Mississippi met with violent opposition.
SOURCE
"Freedom Rides," The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute, Stanford University, www.kinginstitute.stanford.edu/
"Two Mystery Bombs Set Off Downtown," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., June 16, 1961, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
