1998 United States Capitol shooting
[2] Weston's exact motives are unknown, but he had expressed strong distrust of the federal government of the United States; he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia six years before the attack.
[6][7] On the day of the shooting, Officer Chestnut and an unarmed civilian security aide were assigned to operate the X-ray machine and magnetometer at the Document Door entrance located on the East Front of the Capitol, which was open only to Members of Congress and their staff.
Detective Gibson was assigned to the dignitary protection detail of then House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) and was in his suite of offices near this door.
Weston, armed with a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson six-shot revolver, entered the Document Door at 3:40 p.m. At the same time, Officer Chestnut was providing directions to a tourist and his son.
[13] In 1999, Weston was found incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness; he had a history of schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and was entitled the Jacob Joseph Chestnut–John Michael Gibson United States Capitol Visitor Center Act of 1998.
The hearing was held on May 6 with Weston appearing via teleconference from the Federal Medical Center, Butner with his public defender Jane Pierce and two witnesses he selected, a psychologist and vocational rehabilitation specialist.
During the hearing, defense psychologist Holly Rogers stated that "sometimes there are individuals who simply do not respond to medication", implying that Weston was not ready for release.
[24] His funeral included a speech by President Bill Clinton and a fly-over by military jets in a missing man formation.
[citation needed] Detective John Michael Gibson (March 29, 1956 – July 24, 1998) was a United States Capitol Police officer assigned to the dignitary protection detail of Congressman Tom DeLay.
Growing up in New England, Gibson was a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, and on August 11, 1998, the team held a moment of silence in his honor before a game with the Kansas City Royals.
[citation needed] Russell Eugene Weston Jr. (born December 28, 1956), also known as Rusty, grew up in Valmeyer, Illinois, a town of 900 people.
Weston had once thought that his neighbor was using his television satellite dish to spy on his actions and believed Navy SEALs were hiding in his cornfield.
[28] Weston was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia six years before the shooting and spent fifty-three days in a mental hospital after threatening a Montana resident.
[29] Two years before the shooting in July 1996, Weston bought a new suit and set off on a cross-country trip to visit the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in McLean, Virginia.
In an interview with a court-appointed psychiatrist, he explained that he stormed the Capitol to prevent the United States from being annihilated by disease and legions of cannibals.
