Woman Gets 20 Years for Capitol Bombing

WASHINGTON — Leftist radical Laura Whitehorn received a 20-year sentence Thursday for her role in bombing the U.S. Capitol and conspiring to set off seven other explosions that a prosecutor called acts of terrorism.

Whitehorn was sentenced along with co-defendant Linda Sue Evans, who was ordered to serve five years for her part in the bombing conspiracy after completing a 35-year term she is already serving for illegally buying firearms.

The two women, who pleaded guilty in a plea bargain Sept. 7, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene at a proceeding punctuated by cheers and applause from supporters.

The Nov. 7, 1983, bomb blast that blew a hole in the wall outside the Senate chamber and the explosions at seven other locations in Washington and New York City “were not symbolic gestures; they were distinct acts of terrorism,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Margaret Ellen said. “Only chance prevented serious harm” to people, she added.