Listed are major episodes of civil unrest in the United States. This list does not include the numerous incidents of destruction and violence associated with various sporting events.[1]
1861 – Camp Jackson Affair, May 10, Union forces clash with Confederate sympathizers on the streets of St. Louis, 28 dead, 100 injured., St. Louis, Missouri
1886 – Bay View Massacre, May 4; 1400 workers march for eight hour work day; 7 killed and several more wounded after confrontation with National Guard. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1887 - Reservoir war, April 25; a minor insurrection against the State of Ohio to destroy a canal feeder reservoir and other canal infrastructure. Antwerp, Ohio
1887 – Thibodaux Massacre, November 22–25; a racial attack mounted by white paramilitary groups in Thibodaux, Louisiana in November 1887 Thibodaux, Louisiana
1935 – Southern Tenant Farmers' Union Riot, Arkansas
1935 – Terre Haute General Strike, July 22–23, A labor dispute between an enameling company and a labor union led to a two-day general strike. Indiana National Guard was called out and martial law was declared by the Governor. The city was under a state of martial law for six months. It was the third general strike in U.S. History. Terre Haute, Indiana
1964 – the July 16 killing of James Powell by police in the Yorkville neighborhood just south of East Harlem precipitates a string of race riots in July and August, including:
1964 – Jersey City Riot, August 3–5, A disorderly conduct arrest set off accusations of police brutality and were followed by protests and riots.[11] At least two residents were shot and several police and rioters were injured,[12]Jersey City, NJ
1966 – 1966 New York City riots, July 14–20, New York City, New York, as a result of a dispute between white and black youths a riot would break out. In the process, there would be 1 death, 53 injuries, 3 cases of arson and 82 arrests made.[13]
1966 – Perth Amboy riots, August 2–5, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, a riot would break out after an arrest was made when a Hispanic man was arrested for loitering. Hispanic residents also disliked being treated negatively by the police and being ignored by the community. 26 injuries were reported (15 from law enforcement officers and 11 from civilians) and 43 arrests were made. Interference with firefighters did occur.[13][14]
1967 – 1967 Clearwater riot, June 3[16] or 4,[18] Clearwater, Florida, a riot started after a white police officer was trying to assist an African-American officer break up a fight between two African-American men.[18]
1967 – 1967 Philadelphia riot, June 11, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began after a dispute involving a rug. Bottle and brick throwing were reported in an African-American neighborhood and 4 police officers were injured.[18]
1967 – 1967 Prattville riot, June 11, Prattville, Alabama, riots would break out after Stokely Carmichael's arrest. 4 people would be wounded and 10 were arrested.[16]
1967 – 1967 Waterloo riots, July 8–9, Waterloo, Iowa, riots would start after a young African-American man was arrested for assault and battery on an elderly white man who was sweeping the sidewalk in front of his business location.[20]
1967 – 1967 Kansas City riot, July 9, Kansas City, Missouri, 1 person was injured and 11 were arrested.[16]
1967 – 1967 Fresno riot, July 15–17, Fresno, California, riots were sparked after the loss of a local youth job program that was used extensively by black and brown youths. 2 people would be injured, 27 arrests would be made and 46 cases of arson were reported.[13][21]
1967 – 1967 New Brunswick riots, July 17–18, New Brunswick, New Jersey, riots were sparked after a group of roughly 200 black teenagers were protesting against their unfair treatment in local public schools, unemployment and the closing of a social club for them. Protesters would loot stores in the city's business district they judged were unfair to them. After that, Mayor Patricia Sheehan would declare a curfew starting at 10 PM. On June 18, a crowd of 200 would gather and 75 police officers in response would create a barricade to prevent them from entering the business district.[22]
1967 – 1967 Wadesboro riot, July 22, Wadesboro, North Carolina, after a black person was shot and run over by a car, local black residents went on a rock throwing spree.[16]
1967 – 1967 New York City riot, July 22–25, East Harlem & South Bronx, New York City, a riot would start in the neighborhood of East Harlem after a policeman killed a Puerto Rican he claimed was holding a knife and threatening him and later spread to the South Bronx.[23][24]
1967 – 1967 Birmingham riot, July 23, Birmingham, Alabama, 11 people were injured and over 70 were arrested with the National Guard having to intervene; assisting the police.[16]
1967 – 1967 Rochester riots, July 23–24, Rochester, New York when the police broke up a drag race occurring, riots would break out as a result. 1 person would be killed during the riots, 9 injuries, 146 arson cases were reported and 69 arrests were made. The New York State Police and the National Guard would be called up.[16][13]
1967 – 1967 Lima riots, July 23–26, Lima, Ohio after a white man was killed by a black man in an alley fight, Lima would experience rioting. 2 cases of arson and 23 arrests were made.[13]
1967 – 1967 Grand Rapids riot, July 25–27, Grand Rapids, Michigan, the riot was sparked after the Grand Rapids Police raided and shut down an illegal bar which led to many of them going to a street and would witness an African American youth who attempted to steal a car having a broken arm with a cast. Many of those who witnessed it believed it was a case of police brutality as the youth was tackled on the ground.[25][13]
1967 – 1967 Albany riot, Albany, New York, July 27–28, riots would break out after a rumor spread about two deaths involving a police car occurred. 41 arrests would be made and 3 arson cases are known to have happened. Looting and vandalism is also known to have happened as well.[13]
1967 – 1967 Wilmington riots, July 28–30, Wilmington, Delaware, 13 were injured, 14 arson cases and 325 arrests were reported during the riots. There was also $15,000 in property damage as well.[13]
1967 – 1967 Rockford riots, July 29–30, Rockford, Illinois, 11 people were injured and 44 were arrested.[16]
1967 – 1967 Providence riots, July 31 – August 1, 23 people were injured and 14 arrests were made.[16]
1967 – 1967 New Haven riots, August 19–23, a riot would break out after a white restaurant owner shot at a Puerto Rican man who had come at him with a knife. Over 200 Connecticut State Troopers would be called in to assist the city's police department that had 430 officers. 3 injuries would occur, 90 cases of arson were reported, 679 arrests and $149,000 of property damage were reported.[26]
1968 – 1968 Tallahassee riots, April 4–7, Tallahassee, Florida, riots would primarily be around the campus of Florida A&M University.[27] One person would be killed and five were injured. Seven arson cases were reported during the riots.[13]
1968 – 1968 Boston riots, April 4–9, Boston, Massachusetts, 34 injuries were reported, 16 cases of arson and 87 arrests were made during riots.[13]
1968 – 1968 Charlotte riots, April 4–12, Charlotte, North Carolina, seven injuries were reported; 29 cases of arson and 30 arrests were made during riots.[13]
1968 – 1968 Jacksonville riots, April 6–11, Jacksonville, Florida one person would be killed and fifteen injuries were reported with twelve being from law enforcement and the other three from civilians.[13]
1968 – 1968 Paterson riots, July 2–7, Paterson, New Jersey rumors over a man being killed by the police while being arrested would lead to riots. 150 arrests are known to have been made during the riots and 86 arsons were reported. Roughly $567,000 of property damage was dealt during the riots.[13]
1968 – 1968 Coney Islands Riots, July 19–22, Coney Island, New York City, New York, the cause of the riots are unclear. 5 police officers were injured and 8 people were arrested by the police in a neighborhood that was predominantly black and Puerto Rican.[28][29]
1968 – 1968 Richmond riots. July 25–30, Richmond, California riots broke out after a 15-year-old black male suspect in a car robbery was shot by the police. 17 arson cases were reported and 564 arrests were made during the course of the riots along with $500,000 worth of property damage dealt.[13][30]
1970 – University of Puerto Rico riot, March 4–11, at least one killed, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
1970 – Coachella Riots, April 5, Coachella, California, started after a Brown Beret member would disrupt a dance going to a stage on a bandshell saying "action" should be done. 3 arrests would be made during the riot and 4 police officers would be injured.[28][31]
1971 – Albuquerque riots, June 13–15, Albuquerque, New Mexico rioting would break out in Albuquerque after the police would attempt to arrest a man in a crowd of several hundred youths. It would later escape as police officers fired onto the crowd wounding 9. The young people would go to the downtown area of the city where they overturned cars, damaged/destroyed buildings and looted stores. The police would get rocks and bottles thrown back at them and in response, threw tear gas at them. The New Mexico National Guard was eventually called in and by the end of the rioting, $3 million in damage was dealt.[32]
1971 – Colonia riots, July 18–19, Colonia, California 38 arrests would be made in a two hour long riot caused by unknown reasons.[33][28]
1971 - Santa Fe Fiestas riot, September 7, 1971, Santa Fe, New Mexico, civil disturbances and vandalism during annual Fiestas event. Police fired tear gas into crowd. 100 National Guardsman were called to protect buildings and keep order.[34] 23 arrests would also be made as well.[35]
1972 – Pharr riots, February 6, Pharr, Texas started after police attacked a crowd protesting police brutality. 1 person would be killed.[28][36]
1972 – April 1972 Santa Paula riots, April 23, Santa Paula, California riot would start either because of Mexican-Americans bad relations with the police and a 10 PM park curfew or a fight. There would be 35-40 arrests with 250 primarily Mexican-American youth participants.[28][37]
1972 – Gainesville riots, May 12, 1972, Gainesville, Florida, protesters and police would fight for several hours in a six block radius. Tear gas would be used with 174 arrests being made and 24 injuries reported.[38]
1972 – 1972 Boston riots, July 1972, Boston, Massachusetts[39]
1979 – Levittown Gas Riot, June 23–24, Thousands rioted in response to increased gasoline prices in the U.S., 198 arrested, 44 police and 200 rioters injured. Gas stations were damaged and cars set on fire, Levittown, Pennsylvania
1982 – Miami riot 1982, December 28, A Miami policeman shoots a black video game player in an arcade. Riots breakout in the Overtown section of Miami. Miami, Florida
1989 – 1989 Miami riot, January 16–18, Miami policeman kills a black motorcycle rider. Riots breakout in the Overtown section of the city. Miami, Florida
1989 – 1989 Tampa riot, February 1, Tampa, Florida in the College Hill neighborhood of Tampa a riot would start after the arrest of an African American man who was a drug dealer by undercover police officers. He would later collapse in a police cruiser and die at St. Joseph's Hospital. The disturbance would last for an hour with 150 youths participating and the neighborhood which covered 22 square blocks would be cordoned off. 100 police officers were summoned to calm down the situation. A grocery store would be stoned, looted and set on fire. 4 police officers would be injured including one who was involved with the drug dealer's arrest.[42][43]
1990–1999
1990 – 1990 Wynwood riots, December 3, 1990, Miami, Florida, Started after police officers who had beaten a drug dealer named Leonardo Mercado to death in December 1988 were acquitted.[44]
2010 – Oakland protest riot, November 5, protesting sentence of former BART officer in shooting of Oscar Grant on New Years Day 2009; see BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant. Oakland, California
2011 – Madison Occupation. Protestors storm and occupy the Wisconsin state capitol building for 18 days.
2019 – Memphis riot, June 13, following the fatal shooting of Brandon Webber by U.S. Marshals, Memphis, TN.
2020–2022
2020 – New York City FTP protests, January 31, Anti-Transit Police and MTA protest resulting in hundreds of arrests over the three separate days of demonstration. Vandalism and violence on train stations were reported.
2020 – Dayton University riot, March 11 – Riot breaks out following a university's announcement of a temporary closure due to COVID-19.[46]
George Floyd protests, May 26 – Following the murder of George Floyd, protests and civil unrest against police brutality and systemic racism began in Minneapolis and quickly spread across the United States and the world, on a scale unseen since the unrest of the summers of 1967 and 1968. Derek Chauvin, the policeman who held his knee on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, was soon fired along with the three other officers involved. Later, Chauvin was arrested and charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter; after being taken into custody and released on bail in October 2020, Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in April 2021[47] and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison in June 2021.[48] The other three policemen were charged with aiding and abetting murder and are scheduled to be tried in March 2022. Widespread protests and riots spread to other American cities and then to other countries, with Floyd's murder garnering condemnation.[49] Protest tactics included peaceful occupation and resistance, but was overshadowed by widespread looting and damage of private and public properties. In the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill, an occupation protest and self-declared autonomous zone was established on June 8, 2020, covering six city blocks and a park after the Seattle Police Department left their East Precinct building. The area was cleared of occupants by police on July 1, 2020. May 29 began national days of protests in every state; some of which lasted throughout the summer of 2020.[50]
2020 – Kenosha unrest, August 23–28, On August 23 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Jacob Blake was shot in the back by a police officer while not complying with their attempt to arrest him. Protests and rioting occurred after the incident. A State of Emergency was declared and police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. During several days of rioting, government buildings were damaged, businesses were looted and set on fire, and vehicles were firebombed, including 100 cars burned at a car dealership. On the third day of unrest an armed teenager, from out of state, shot three rioters, wounding one and killing two others. By August 28, almost 1000 Wisconsin National Guard troops were on the streets, backed by National Guard troops from Michigan, Alabama and Arizona. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged with the cost of damage to City property close to $2 million and the cost to private property damaged near $50 million.
2020 – Minneapolis false rumors riot, August 26–28, On August 26, a false rumor that police shot a man in Minneapolis started riots that set four buildings on fire and damaged 72 others.
2020 – Jewish Protest, October 7–8, In Brooklyn, New York, members of the Orthodox Jewish community protested over new COVID-19 restrictions. Minor fires were set, masks were burned, and journalist Jacob Kornbluh was attacked. Heshy Tischler was taken into custody for inciting a riot.[51]
2020 – 2020–21 United States election protests, November 3 – March 2021, Several demonstrations were held during and after the 2020 presidential election. Clashes between pro-Trump supporters and counterprotesters occurred on multiple nights, including November 14 and December 12. On the night of December 12, there were multiple stabbings and over 23 people were arrested.
2021 – United States Capitol attack, January 6, After months of unsuccessful attempts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, asserting voter fraud occurred and unsuccessfully attempting to pressure state election officials to alter the election results in his favor, a large group of pro-Trump supporters, allegedly called to action by Trump,[52] entered the United States Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's election victory. The Capitol was vandalized, including doors, windows, and offices, forcing members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence to evacuate. One death occurred as a direct result of the unrest, and several additional deaths were reported subsequently, but determined to be due to unrelated or natural causes.[53] Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran from Southern California, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she attempted to enter through a broken window leading to the Speaker's Lobby inside the Capitol. During a rush of protestors attempting to fight their way through the police line, Rosanne Boyland was unintentionally crushed and killed. While originally believed to have been a victim of blunt force trauma or chemical spray during altercations between protestors and police, officer Brian Sicknick also died shortly after the violence from a stroke. Nearly 140 police officers were injured.[54] In the aftermath of the unrest, which received widespread domestic and international condemnation, the Chief of the Capitol Police resigned under pressure and President Trump was impeached a second time under accusation of incitement of insurrection.[55][56] His subsequent trial in February 2021 ultimately resulted in an acquittal by the Senate, making Trump the first to be tried as a former president and to be impeached and acquitted twice.[57]
2021 – Daunte Wright protests, April 11 – Ongoing, On April 11, police officer Kim Potter fatally shot 20-year-old African-American man Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, near where former police officer Derek Chauvin was standing trial for the murder of George Floyd.[58] Protests demanding justice for Wright were met with force by law enforcement, who used tear gas, canisters, and other methods to disperse protesters. Several demonstrations escalated into riots with property damage, looting, and violent clashes between protesters and police. On April 14, shortly after she resigned from the police force, Potter was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter.[59] In response to the unrest, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared a State of Emergency and imposed a citywide curfew amid mass arrests.
2021 – Israel-Palestine protests, May 9 – June 2021, Although preceded by weeks of protests against the internationally condemned Israeli evictions of Palestinian family homes in Sheikh Jarrah East Jerusalem in which Palestinian protestors clashed with Israeli police upon provocation by far-right, ultra-nationalist and Zionist protestors shouting "death to Arabs," the primary causal event that sparked the Israel-Palestine crisis occurred on May 9, 2021, when Israeli police stormed[60] Al Aqsa Mosque, also known by some Muslims as Haram esh-Sharif, on what the Jews call The Temple Mount while Muslim Palestinians were engaged in ritual prayer during their celebration of Laylat al-Qadr, also called the night of destiny or the night of power—one of the odd numbered nights during the last 10 days of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, during which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad and considered by Muslims to be the holiest night in the Islamic Calendar. Amid the Israel-Palestine crisis, the United States saw a rise in antisemitism and violence against Jews, as both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters took to the streets of major U.S. cities.[61] On May 20, in Midtown Manhattan, pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters both took to the streets; the two groups collided and fights broke out. At least 26 people were arrested during the protests on various charges, including obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police. During the violence, anti-semitic attackers beat a Jewish man.[62] Also on May 20 in Bal Harbour, Florida, an SUV carrying four supporters of Palestine drove by a synagogue and threw garbage at a Jewish family. A nearby driver, armed with a gun, witnessed the incident and jumped to the family's defense, chasing the men away. In a separate incident, a man in Miami drove a van painted with Nazi symbols past a pro-Israel demonstration and shouted antisemitic slurs; the man was subsequently arrested and later released.[63]
2021 – Winston Boogie Smith riots, June 3–7, On June 3, at about 2:10 P.M at a parking garage on Lake Street between Fremont and Hennepin Avenues in the Upton district of Minneapolis, a 32-year-old African-American man named Winston Boogie Smith was killed by Hennepin County and Ramsey County Sheriff's Departments deputies who were assisting the US Marshals Service in arresting him. The US Marshals Service stated their reason for arresting him was because he had failed to appear in court on May 19 after being arrested for firearms possession. There is no known video footage of the incident occurring. Both a Ramsey and a Hennepin county deputy were later placed on administrative leave. A crowd gathered after the incident occurred waiting to hear more information pertaining to the incident. During that night a handful of businesses were looted and vandalized. 9 arrests were reported to have been made.[64] On June 13, an SUV drove into a parked car that was shielding protesters and the car was pushed into a crowd, leading to the death of one person and injuring 3 others.[65] On July 8, 2021, a video link was posted on Twitter showing a driver in the Uptown area of Minneapolis "Firing a gun into the air while doing burnouts".[66][67]
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