Later, a grand jury was formed by then San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein to identify and criminalize protest participants. The violent police response led to the hospitalization of over 100 people in what is now known as the White Night riots. Hours after the City Hall protesters dispersed, police indiscriminately arrested and beat people presumed to be gay and lesbian, including raiding and vandalizing Elephant Walk, a Castro neighborhood gay bar. Protesters responded by overturning and lighting fire to several police vehicles and breaking windows at City Hall. He was found guilty only of manslaughter and sentenced to a seven-year prison term.
White had used his police department issued firearm to kill Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. In May 1979, anticipating lenient sentencing of former San Francisco Police Officer and City Supervisor Dan White, LAPV organized a march and rally on San Francisco City Hall. Dan White Gets Special Treatment!, 1979 California social, protest, and counterculture movement ephemera collection, SOC MOV EPH Box 1, Folder 13 California Historical Society.
