February 20, 1956, police raided Hazel's Inn, a gay bar in Pacifica, California. Officers from San Mateo County Sheriff's department raided the bar for "operating a dance without permit" and serving alcohol to minors. Seventy-seven gay men and ten lesbians were arrested.
As a result of the Lavender Scare, the anti-gay "moral" panic, resulted in police raids around San Francisco and the Bay area, so people moved south and settled on Hazel's Inn, known to be a tolerant establishment.
As the gay bar attracted more and more people, it attracted the attention of Sheriff Earl Whitmore, who was tipped off by people about 'unusual activity'. Just after midnight on February 20, 1956, Whitmore began his raid with military police, California Highway Patrol officers, and Alcoholic Beverage Control agents.
The arrested individuals were charged with 'lewd vagrancy', a broad brush term in the 1950s to target African Americans, poor people, and homosexuals. The ACLU represented the defendants and were able to clear twenty-seven. Two men were found guilty and ordered to pay heavy fines, and were banished from San Mateo County for two years.
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