Vandals Strike Chapel at Historic Congressional Cemetery

The Chapel at Historic Congressional Cemetery

Vandals Strike Chapel at Historic Congressional Cemetary

by Larry Janezich

Posted November 7, 2023

Last Saturday, the chapel at Historic Congressional Cemetery was vandalized, according to the following  email addressed to the members of the cemetery’s K9 dog walking community by the cemetary staff.

Date: Sat, Nov 4, 2023 at 6:57 PM

Subject: Chapel Vandalized Saturday 11/4

Dear K9 Community,

We are sending this email to ask for your help.

This afternoon during a private event, someone entered our chapel and vandalized this historic space. The offender(s) used the fire extinguisher inside and sprayed its contents all over our funeral equipment, chairs, and nineteenth century furniture. We have filed a police report and are currently reviewing security footage.

If you were on the grounds between 2 and 5 PM and saw anything suspicious, please report it to us by emailing staff@congressionalcemetery.org.

Sincerely,

Historic Congressional Cemetery

A staff member told CHC that the chapel is usually locked but had been opened prior to an event. (A souce told CHC that the event – which did not directlty involve the chapel – was scheduled to begin at 3:00pm and that the vandalism likely occurred prior to the event.) The staffer said the vandalism was “strange” because there was no way that someone would know in advance that the chapel would be unlocked.  The chapel has been cleaned up and it does not appear that the incident will affect on-going cemetery activities or events.  There is no new information regarding the identity or identities of those responsible.