“Statements and Petition” Veteran’s protest petition against Norman Thomas meeting and statements by signees: Breitkopf, Carson, Cassel, Connelly, Durkin, Durning, Freeman, Girod, Heimberg, Hoffman, Lynch, McCloskey, McGinnis, Mitchko, Ward, Minisi, Basile, Undated

This is material that originated with the Newark Police Department surrounding the investigation of the riot in Military Park during Norman Thomas’s speech. The start of the collection is photographs from the day of the incident. The following folders contain elements of the investigation including statements, invoices, files, transcripts, and one court docket. Of note, two petitions were signed against the speech, and the police took statements from all signees (Box 1, Folder 9 and 11). Police also took statements from many Newark gangsters (Box 2, Folder 1-2). Biographical files (often with photos) on these gangsters are also in the collection (Box 1, Folder 12). The court docket relates to one case that was pursued against rioters. The last four folders in the collection are final reports, written by Deputy Chief Frank Brex, to the Police Chief, with accompanying documents, on particular aspects of the investigation.