| Baltimore riot of 1968 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the King assassination riots | |||
| Date | April 6, 1968 – April 14, 1968 | ||
| Location | 39°17′41″N 76°36′22″W / 39.29472°N 76.60611°W | ||
| Caused by | Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. | ||
| Methods | Rioting, race riots, protests, looting, attacks | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 6 | ||
| Injuries | 700 | ||
| Arrested | 5,800+ | ||
The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national guard.
The immediate cause of the riot was the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, which triggered unrest in over 100 cities across the United States. These events are sometimes described as the Holy Week Uprising.[1]
Spiro Agnew, the Governor of Maryland, called out thousands of National Guard troops and 500 Maryland State Police to quell the disturbance. When it was determined that the state forces could not control the rebellion, Agnew requested Federal troops from President Lyndon B. Johnson.