Assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk
On the morning of November 27, 1978, former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White climbed through a basement window of City Hall to avoid the metal detectors at the front entrance. He was carrying a loaded .38 caliber revolver with extra ammunition. Within minutes, he had shot and killed Mayor George Moscone in the mayor's office and Supervisor Harvey Milk in Milk's office down the hall. Moscone was the 37th mayor of San Francisco. Milk was the first openly gay person elected to public office in California. White was a former colleague who had resigned his seat and then demanded it back.
A Monday Morning at City Hall
White had resigned from the Board of Supervisors on November 10, then almost immediately regretted the decision and asked Moscone to reappoint him. Moscone initially indicated he would, but changed his mind under pressure from other supervisors and community leaders who preferred to appoint someone more aligned with the board's progressive majority. On the morning of November 27, Moscone planned to announce the appointment of Don Horanzy, not White. White entered City Hall through the basement, bypassing security. He went to Moscone's office first. After a brief conversation, he shot the mayor four times, twice in the head. He then walked to Harvey Milk's office and shot him five times, also twice in the head.
The Trial and the White Night Riots
White's trial became one of the most controversial in San Francisco history. His defense team argued diminished capacity, contending that depression had impaired his judgment. Part of the evidence cited was White's shift from a healthy diet to one heavy in junk food, including Twinkies -- a detail that the media dubbed the 'Twinkie defense,' though the actual legal argument was more nuanced. On May 21, 1979, the jury convicted White of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder, a verdict that carried a maximum sentence of seven years and eight months. That evening, thousands of people marched from the Castro to City Hall in what became known as the White Night riots, setting police cars on fire and shattering City Hall's glass doors.
Legacy and Memory
Dianne Feinstein, then president of the Board of Supervisors, succeeded Moscone as mayor and announced the assassinations to the press with the words: 'Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed.' She would go on to represent California in the U.S. Senate for decades. Harvey Milk has been memorialized extensively: the Harvey Milk Plaza at Castro and Market Streets, a Navy ship bearing his name, a U.S. postage stamp, and the Academy Award-winning film Milk. White served five years in prison and died by suicide in 1985. The assassinations remain a defining trauma in San Francisco's civic memory, a moment when political violence shattered the illusion that progressive cities were immune to it.
From the Air
Located at 37.78°N, 122.42°W at San Francisco City Hall in the Civic Center. The distinctive Beaux-Arts dome of City Hall is visible from altitude. KSFO is approximately 10 nm south.