Ernest McGhee (later known as Hamaas Abdul Khaalis) is born in Indiana; he later becomes the leader whose grievances and organization would drive the 1977 Washington, D.C., hostage crisis.
Khaalis rises within the Nation of Islam, becoming prominent in its ministries and schools and being appointed national secretary—an influential role that later shapes his split and rivalry with the organization.
Khaalis breaks with the Nation of Islam and founds the rival Hanafi Movement, establishing the group that would later carry out the 1977 takeovers.
Khaalis is arrested for attempted extortion but released on grounds of mental illness, a legal episode that foreshadows later court and justice-system grievances cited during the 1977 crisis.
Militant students at Howard University form the Kokayi family; after the group disbands, many members join Khaalis’ Hanafi American Mussulman’s Rifle and Pistol Club (linked to Khaalis’ base at 7700 16th Street NW).
Khaalis publishes an open letter attacking the leadership and beliefs of the Nation of Islam, deepening the rift between the groups referenced in the crisis’s backstory.
Five men break into Khaalis’ Washington, D.C., home and murder five of his children, his nine-day-old grandson, and another man in the 1973 Hanafi Muslim massacre; this event becomes the central grievance motivating later demands.
When the delayed murder trial begins, Khaalis’ surviving daughter—who had sustained brain damage—becomes incoherent under cross-examination and flees; the judge issues a warrant and later declares a mistrial, fueling Khaalis’ anger at the justice system.
Seven members of Khaalis’ group seize the B'nai B'rith headquarters at 1640 Rhode Island Ave NW and take over 100 hostages, initiating the multi-site Washington, D.C., hostage crisis.
Three hostage-takers enter the Islamic Center of Washington and seize eleven hostages, expanding the siege to a second location.
Two Hanafis enter the District Building near the White House seeking high-value hostages; gunfire kills radio reporter Maurice Williams (WHUR-FM) and mortally wounds Police Officer Mack Cantrell.
Then–councilman Marion Barry is struck by a ricocheting shotgun pellet during the District Building takeover and is taken to the hospital, becoming one of the most prominent injured figures of the incident.
Khaalis issues demands including transfer of those convicted in the 1973 murders and those convicted for killing Malcolm X, visits from Warith Deen Mohammed and Muhammad Ali, a $750 refund tied to a contempt citation, and a ban on the film he believed sacrilegious (Mohammad, Messenger of God).
Some demands are broadcast publicly when the hostage-takers call journalist Max Robinson, leveraging media attention as a pressure tactic.
A Justice Department team organized by L. Douglas Heck and Rudy Giuliani becomes involved; two intelligence operatives, Steve Pieczenik and Robert Blum, are brought in as the federal response ramps up.
Authorities return the money tied to the contempt citation and the premiere of The Message (1976 film) is cancelled; however, the prisoners Khaalis demanded are not handed over.
Khaalis and other participants at the two sites where no one was killed are allowed to be charged and then released on their own recognizance, marking the end of the immediate hostage crisis.
All 12 participants are later tried and convicted; Khaalis receives a sentence of 21 to 120 years for his role in the hostage taking.
The siege is referenced in Joni Mitchell’s song “Otis And Marlena” on her album Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, reflecting its cultural impact soon after the events.
Khaalis dies in custody at the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner in Butner, North Carolina.
Playwright Jonathan Leaf’s play The Caterers is produced Off Broadway, portraying a modern-day version of the siege.
The fifth-floor press room at the John A. Wilson Building is named for slain reporter Maurice Williams, commemorating the journalist killed during the District Building takeover.
Filmmaker David Simon reuses an anecdote from the siege in the HBO miniseries The Plot Against America (miniseries), drawn from his father’s experience as a hostage.
Journalism professor Shahan Mufti receives the 2020 J. Anthony Lukas Work-In-Progress Award for his manuscript American Caliph, an account of the 1977 siege.
Abdul Muzikir, identified as the person who shot and killed Maurice Williams, is released from prison after serving time following a 70-year sentence.
Mufti’s book American Caliph is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, adding a major later historical account of the siege.