In July 1419, tensions in Prague escalated as the radical Hussite movement intensified its push for religious reform and social change. The Hussites, followers of John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, contested the authority of the Catholic Church and sought to implement more egalitarian practices in society. On the 30th of July, a large assembly gathered outside the New Town Hall, spurred by the imprisonment of Jan Žižka and other Hussite leaders. Longstanding grievances regarding the city council's oppressive measures against the movement fueled mounting anger within the radical faction.

In a dramatic turn of events, a crowd stormed the New Town Hall, demanding the release of Hussite prisoners. The council members, outnumbered and facing fierce hostility, were unable to quell the mob's fury. In a shocking act of defiance, members of the crowd seized and threw seven prominent council members out of the windows. This brutal act of defenestration was not just a display of anger but a symbolic rejection of the existing political powers that the Hussites sought to dismantle.

This shocking incident marked the first of many defenestrations in Prague, establishing a precedent for violence in the charge for reform. It escalated the ongoing struggles between Hussite groups and the Catholic establishment, ultimately leading to a series of conflicts known as the Hussite Wars that would reshape the political and religious landscape of Bohemia for years to come.