May Day, 1970: Rally in New Haven

May, 1970

The rally protesting the New Haven Black Panther Trials kicked off at noon on May Day (May 1, 1970), with 15,000-20,000 protesters gathering on the New Haven Green.

The rally proceeded peacefully, with music and speeches, until 9:30pm, when a smaller group of about 1,000 marchers collided with police and were bombarded with tear gas at the New Haven Green. A pair of bombs then went off at Ingall’s Rink. There were no major injuries, and only 21 arrests were made.