White House attacks
The Event A man crashes a plane into the White
House, and another fires a gun at the White
House
Date September 12 and October 29, 1994
Place Washington, D.C.
These were the first attacks against a president since 1981,
when Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr. The
attacks also raised significant questions regarding White
House security measures.
On Monday, September 12, 1994, a Cessna P150
crashed into the lawn of the White House, just south
of the building. The previous evening, the pilot,
Frank Eugene Corder, spent time with his brother
smoking crack cocaine and drinking. Corder’s
brother then dropped him off near Aldino Airport
in Maryland. Corder proceeded to steal the Cessna
P150, in which he had previously taken a few flying
lessons, though he was not a licensed pilot. He first
flew north into Pennsylvania but was later picked
up by the National Airport tower heading south.
Corder entered the prohibited airspace that sur-
rounds the White House at approximately 1:48a.m.
He then began a sharp descent toward the White
House. Corder crashed into the lawn at 1:49a.m.
The airplane slid across the ground and struck the
southwest corner of the White House. Corder was
killed, but no one else was injured. The First Family
was not present in the White House at the time.
There is no evidence that Corder was attempting to
assassinate President Bill Clinton. Instead, it seems
likely that he wanted to kill himself.
On Saturday, October 29, 1994, Francisco Martin
Duran stood on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the
White House in a trench coat. At approximately 2:55
p.m., he pulled an SKS semiautomatic rifle from un-
derneath his coat. He put the barrel of the rifle
through the fence and fired multiple rounds at the
White House. Duran then withdrew the rifle and be-
gan to run east, firing his SKS through the fence as
he ran. When Duran paused to reload his weapon, a
tourist, Harry Michael Rakosky, tackled him. Two
other tourists then helped Rakosky subdue Duran
until the Secret Service took him into custody. Presi-
dent Clinton was watching television at the time, and
the Secret Service took immediate steps to protect
him. At no point was the president in danger of be-
ing hit by any of the rounds fired. At least twenty-
nine rounds were fired at the White House, but no
one was injured.
Impact Immediately following the Cessna crash,
the Treasury was told to conduct an in-depth study
and submit recommendations to enhance security.
Once Duran’s attack occurred, that was also added
to the inquiry. A few other instances of attacks com-
mitted by unknown perpetrators were also investi-
gated. Ultimately, both of these attacks contributed
to the closing of Pennsylvania Avenue to tourists.
Further Reading
Clarke, James W., and Seth Lucente. “Getting Even:
Some Observations on President Clinton’s Would-
Be Assassin, Francisco Martin Duran.”British Jour-
nal of Political Science33, no. 1 (January, 2003):
129-162.
Hoffman, Bruce, Peter Chalk, with Timothy E.
Liston and David W. Brannan.Security in the Na-
tion’s Capital and the Closure of Pennsylvania Avenue:
An Assessment. Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 2002.
Michael W. CheekSee also Clinton, Bill; Crime; Gun control; Ter-
rorism. Whitewater investigation
Identification An alleged real estate and financial
scandal against President Bill Clinton and his
wife, Hillary
The Whitewater investigation is sometimes used as a broad
phrase to summarize all of the scandals that dogged the
Clinton presidency, and it is perhaps the best known of the
Clinton scandals except for the Lewinsky affair. While it
is true that the entire investigation lasted throughout
Clinton’s presidency, it is really a number of smaller inter-
locking investigations, nearly all of which turned out to be
without any foundation in fact.
The Whitewater investigation was a U.S. political
controversy based initially on a real estate invest-
ment Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton made during
the 1970’s with James and Susan McDougal in the
Whitewater Development Corporation while Bill
Clinton was governor of Arkansas. Jim McDougal ap-
proached the Clintons with a proposal to join he
and his wife to buy 230 acres of undeveloped land
along the south bank of the White River in Arkan-The Nineties in America Whitewater investigation 915