Lolita Lebrón

Who was Lolita Lebrón?

Lolita Lebrón was a Puerto Rican nationalist who was convicted of attempted murder and other crimes after leading an assault on the United States House of Representatives in 1954, resulting in the wounding of five members of Congress. She was freed from prison in 1979 after being granted clemency by President Jimmy Carter.

Lebrón was born and raised in Lares, Puerto Rico, where she joined the Liberal Party. In her youth she met Francisco Matos Paoli, a renowned Puerto Rican poet, with whom she had a relationship. In 1941, Lebrón migrated to New York City, where she joined the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, gaining influence within the party's leadership. Within the organization she advocated socialist and feminist ideas.

In 1952, after the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was promulgated, the Nationalist Party began a series of revolutionary actions, including the Jayuya Uprising. As part of this initiative, Pedro Albizu Campos ordered her to organize attacks in the United States, focusing on locations that were "the most strategic to the enemy". She became the leader of a group of nationalists, who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954. She was incarcerated as a result. Lebrón remained imprisoned 25 years, when President Jimmy Carter issued pardons to the group involved. After their release in 1981, the nationalists returned to Puerto Rico, where independence movements received them with a celebration. During the following years she continued her involvement in pro-independence activities, including the Navy-Vieques protests. Her life would be subsequently detailed in books and a documentary. On August 1, 2010, Lebrón died from complications of a cardiorespiratory infection.