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The attackers (Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Irving Flores Rodriguez) unfurled a Puerto Rican flag and began shooting at the 240 Representatives who were then debating an immigration bill.
Five representitives were wounded in the attack; one was seriously hurt. (The partisan breakdown, as reported by the Washington Post, was three Democrats and two Republicans.) The wounded lawmakers were Alvin M. Bentley (he took a bullet to the chest), Clifford Davis (shot in the leg), Ben F. Jensen (shot in the back), George H. Fallon and Kenneth A. Roberts .
In 1979, United States President Jimmy Carter freed the assailants, after they had spent 25 years in prison. Their release coincided with Fidel Castro's release of several Americans CIA agents being held in CubaAlternate meanings: see Cuba (disambiguation The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago in the northern Caribbean, in between the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north are found the United States and the Bahamas, to the west M on espionageEspionage is the practice of obtaining secrets spying from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. It is usually thought of as part of an organized (ie, governmental or corporate) effort. A spy is an agent employed to obtain such charges. Carter's administration denied that there were any connections, saying it was making a humanitarian gesture.