On the morning of July 4, 1960, there were more than a few signs of the mayhem that had taken place the night before in Newport, Rhode Island. Newport's Millionaires Row woke up to broken store windows, overturned vehicles, and storm drains clogged with garbage and beer bottles. One-hundred-eighty-two people, mostly young, New England college students had been arrested by combined forces of the Newport Police Department, Rhode Island State Police, and troops from the state's National Guard. The incoming Jamestown Ferry was turned back, the bridge and highway blockaded. The Los Angeles Times reported that the rioting started when the mob of more than twelve-thousand was denied entrance to the full-capacity Newport Jazz Festival. Fueled by anger and alcohol, the horde went on a rampage attacking police with beer cans, whiskey bottles, and stones. Police fought back with tear gas, water cannons and "flying wedges of police cars," according to the Wall Street Journal. Fourteen rioters were charged with assaulting police officers and those who pleaded not guilty were released on bail of one-hundred-dollars. President Eisenhower was scheduled to arrive in two days for vacation and authorities wanted to be rid of the incident as quickly as possible. Almost all charges were dropped and no one was jailed.

The relationship between the festival organization and the city of Newport had become tense between 1955 and 1960. The college crowd was getting ever larger and was increasingly fueled by alcohol. They crashed everywhere from restaurant bathrooms to the lawns of residents. The city's police resources were stretched beyond their limits. John S. Wilson, writing in the July 3 edition of The New York Times explained that the Newport City Council voted 4 to 3 to cancel the remainder of festival events. In turn, Newport Jazz Festival management filed suit against the city, claiming four-million-dollars in lost revenue.