Legislative violence is violence between members of a legislature, often physically, inside the legislature and triggered by divisive issues and tight votes. Such clashes have occurred in many countries, and notable incidents still happen.
Overview Although the sight of brawling politicians is incongruous with a legislature's stately image, its occupants, like in any other workplace, are still prone to stress and anger. The contentious nature of politics, regardless of their location, and the high stakes involved often add to the simmering tensions."When politicians attack...", BBC News, 23 March 2004. US Congressman Galusha A. Grow, no stranger to legislative violence, described the precursors thus:
Causes Some studies have analysed the causes of and repercussions of legislative violence. Co-author of "Making Punches Count: The Individual Logic of Legislative Brawls" surmised that when individual politicians engage in violence on the legislative floor, it is a calculated strategy. "[Politicians are] trying to send a message about themselves, who they are and what kind of person they are, to a specific target audience that can help them with their political career," co-author of the book Nathan F. Batto said.
Afghanistan 5 July 2011 Nazifa Zaki and Hamida Ahmadzai fought in the chamber of the National Assembly over rocket attacks from Pakistan.
19 May 2019 MPs brawled over the election of a new speaker.WATCH: First session of Afghan parliament ends in brawl over new speaker
Albania On 20 November 2023, members of the opposition Democratic Party of Albania interrupted a parliamentary vote on the country's budget by lighting flares and piling chairs in the middle of the session hall as Prime Minister Edi Rama took his seat, causing a small fire that was immediately put out.
On 30 September 2024, Democratic Party MPs shoved microphones, hurled objects at the seats of the speaker and ministers and burned chairs in protest over the conviction of lawmaker Ervin Salianji for slander.
Algeria A tax bill raising rates on electricity, diesel fuel, and 3G cellular service sparked brawls in parliament on 30 November 2015.
Ancient Rome
March 15, 44 BC
General and dictator Julius Caesar was famously assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March, 44 BC, during a meeting of the Roman Senate. The senators, led by Cassius and Brutus and calling themselves Liberatores, had conspired in secret to kill Caesar and considered various ways to do so. Ultimately, they decided to kill him during a meeting of the senate since only senators would be allowed in the meeting, and Caesar would be alone. The senators drafted a fake petition requesting that Caesar hand over power to the Senate; Caesar called a meeting of the Senate to read it. When Caesar met the senators at the Theatre of Pompey, they stabbed him repeatedly with daggers concealed under their togas, killing him. Caesar's assassination led to a civil war for control of the republic, ending ultimately with the rise of Caesar Augustus and the founding of the Roman Empire.Beard, Mary, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, Liverlight Publishing Corporation, New York, 2015 pp. 337-338Matyszak, Philip, Chronicle of the Roman Republic: The Rulers of Ancient Rome from Romulus to Augustus, Thames & Hudson London, 2003, pp 208-211, 227-231
Armenia Legislative violence has happened in Armenia.
On 8 July 2025, a brawl broke out in the National Assembly as lawmakers debated on whether to lift the parliamentary immunity of MP .Scuffle in Armenian Parliament: Lawmakers trade blows during session
Austria During the era of the Dual Monarchy, the House of Deputies () of the Imperial Council () of the Cisleithanian (i.e. Austrian) half of the Empire endured frequent outbursts of violence. Mark Twain, writing in Harper's in 1898, observed:
Australia On 13 February 2019, Brian Burston and his advisor James Ashby clashed in Parliament House after Burston and One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson accused each other of sexual harassment.
Bahamas In 1965, the leader of the opposition threw the ceremonial mace in a protest for electoral reform, which became known as "Black Tuesday". In 2024, deputy leader of the opposition Shanendon Cartwright threw the ceremonial mace from a window in protest over Speaker Patricia Deveaux's refusal to allow Leader of the Opposition Michael Pintard in a session concerning drug trafficking. The ensuing scuffle left the deputy speaker hospitalised while a police officer was injured while Cartwright was being restrained.
Bolivia 27 October 2007 In 2007, a fight broke out in the lower house of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the Chamber of Deputies. The fight erupted during a debate over whether or not to try four judges on corruption charges.
Bosnia and Herzegovina 31 July 2019 Following an intense debate in the Council of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton in Goražde, councilor Daliborka Milović, who was also the president of the Liberal Party, had thrown a plastic water bottle, hitting Edita Velić, a member of the Democratic Front, in the process, who was at the time, the chairman of the council, after a disagreement on drafting a new law. Following the event, Milović was promptly escorted out of the building by municipal police.
23 December 2019 Draško Stanivuković, a prominent member of the PDP, was initially scolded by Milorad Dodik's right-wing SNSD-dominated club for various acts aimed at the government of Republika Srpska. As an MP, Stanivuković became famous for flamboyant presentations of his ideas, which were deemed provocative. On that day, Stanivuković was physically assaulted by Dragan Lukač, the Interior Minister of Republika Srpska who was also an SNSD member. Moments before the confrontation, Lukač warned Stanivuković to cease his provocations aimed at the government, warning him that he would "end up on the floor, just like those little flags he brought along." Following his statement, Lukač had asked Stanivuković, who had by now been walking around the National Assembly hall carrying hand-held NATO flags and distributing them to those present, to approach him, calling him an "ape" in the process. Stanivuković did so, and following a brief exchange of words, Lukač hit him on the head with his right fist. The event was broadcast live on the public broadcaster RTRS. This happened in the wake of events where the Bosnian three-men presidency had unanimously agreed to sign the Reform Program, which was widely speculated to be the undisclosed SMO agreement, which would allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to pursue full membership in NATO. Following the event, Lukač apologized to the public but not Stanivuković.
Brazil
On 4 December 1963, the father of future president Fernando Collor de Mello and senator for Alagoas, Arnon de Melo, fired three shots with a .38 caliber revolver against Silvestre Péricles, Senator for Alagoas and Melo's political opponent, who had been threatening him with death. Pericles escaped from the shots, but two bullets hit the senator for Acre, José Kairala, hitting his abdomen. Kairala was quickly taken to a hospital in Brasília, but later died. Arnon de Melo remained in prison until July 1964, when he was acquitted by the Jury Court of Brasília, on the grounds that he had acted in self-defense.
Canada 4 February 1997 Reform MP Darrel Stinson from British Columbia challenged Liberal MP John Cannis from Ontario, who had just moments prior heckled him and called him "racist" and hurled additional insults at him. He then proceeded to cross the floor but was intervened by fellow caucus Members and the Speaker called for Order.
5 December 2012 New Democratic Party House Leader Nathan Cullen attempted to delay the passing of a Conservative budget bill, leading to a threatening confrontation between Conservative Government House Leader Peter Van Loan and NDP leader Tom Mulcair, described in the media as a "near-brawl".
18 May 2016 Before a vote in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "manhandled" Conservative Party Opposition Whip Gord Brown and inadvertently elbowed NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau. The incident went on to be known as "Elbowgate" and officially known in the House of Commons as "the matter of the physical molestation of the Member from Berthier—Maskinongé".
Czech Republic 21 May 2006 Health Minister David Rath and his right-wing rival, Miroslav Macek, fought during a meeting of disgruntled dentists in Prague.
21 January 2021 Member of Parliament , leader of the far-right Unified – Alternative for Patriots, attacked Deputy Speaker Tomáš Hanzel during the debate on the extension of the state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After being reprimanded by Hanzel for not speaking on the topic, Volný started to insult him, and when his microphone was turned off, he approached and confronted the Deputy Speaker, trying to use his microphone instead. Other deputies came to help Hanzel; the security guard eventually took away Volný.CZECH REPUBLIC: MP SCUFFLES IN PARLIAMENT REFUSING TO WEAR MASKCzech lawmaker investigated over brawl in parliament
Egypt
28 February 2016
Kamal Ahmed threw a shoe at Tawfik Okasha during a session of parliament for hosting the Israeli ambassador Haim Koren.
14 June 2017 While geographer Sayed Al-Husseny was trying to explain that the Gaza Strip is a part of Egypt, MP Ahmed Tantawi went to the platform and broke Husseny's microphone.
Estonia On 5 February 1929, during a session of the Riigikogu, the Farmers' Assemblies accused Minister of Education and Welfare Leopold Johanson of Socialist Workers' Party of accepting bribes. Artur Tupits of the Farmers' Assemblies then slapped Johanson in the face twice until the two were separated. Disturbances continued on the next day. Tupits was then arrested for two months. His name inspired a new expression for a brawl in Estonian (tupitsat tegema, similar to the earlier expression tuupi tegema)."Kähmlus Riigikogus" – "XX sajandi kroonika – I osa 1900–1940" (2002), lk. 319.
European Parliament In 1988, when Pope John Paul II addressed the European Parliament, hard-line Ulster loyalist Ian Paisley, then an MEP, denounced him as the Antichrist and was subjected to booing by fellow MEPs who also threw objects at him; Otto von Habsburg was among those who helped physically eject Paisley from the room.
Mike Hookem punched Steven Woolfe in the face at a UK Independence Party conference in 2016.
Georgia On 11 December 2013 Georgian Dream Party clashed with Georgia's United National Movement over a resolution to voice support for anti-government protesters in Ukraine.
On 26 December 2014, a brawl broke out following an argument over the composition of Georgian delegations in international institutions.
On 15 April 2024, during a debate over the controversial "foreign agents" bill, the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party's parliamentary faction, Mamuka Mdinaradze, was punched in the face while speaking at the dispatch box by opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili.
On 26 June 2026, a fistfight between lawmakers erupted in parliament during a question-and-answer session after the annual report of the government was delivered by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Abkhazia
On 19 December 2024, lawmaker Adgur Kharazia fatally shot his colleague Vakhtang Golandzia and injured another MP, Kan Kvarchia, inside the People's Assembly of Abkhazia before escaping from the scene.
Germany