Free Republic

It was an exodus just a few ticks short of panic. As word spread throughout Oakland around 2:30 p.m. that a verdict had been reached in the Johannes Mehserle murder trial, the downtown streets suddenly flooded with workers rushing out of their workplaces to go home. The normally placid lanes became clogged, people hurried along the sidewalk, and there was an almost electric air of worried anticipation. BART trains streaming in and out of downtown were jammed. At the downtown federal building, announcements were made over loudspeakers to tell everyone to go home. At many of the big businesses throughout...

Los Angeles authorites have released raw video of a mob attacking and setting fire to a taxicab after the Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. Officials hope the public can identify some of the people seen on the video. The taxicab incident was one of the most serious that occurred during the rampage. Violence erupted within 30 minutes of the game's end as rowdy fans poured out of area bars and, shortly after, the 19,000 ticket-holders inside Staples began to emerge. Phalanxes of LAPD officers successfully funneled the tightly packed revelers away from the venue,...