Despite the nature of the takeover of the bank, the brutality endured by the Armenian civilian population in the wake of the incident overshadowed the incident itself,[15] renewing Western concern for Armenian safety in the Ottoman Empire.[15] United States President Grover Cleveland, responding to widespread support for the Armenian cause galvanized by American missionaries stationed in the Ottoman Empire,[16] condemned "the rage of mad bigotry and cruel fanaticism," the "not infrequent reports of the wanton destruction of homes and the bloody butchery of men, women, and children, made martyrs to their profession of Christian faith."