This Day in History: br The Stonewall Riots Begin June 28,1969 The riots are considered the br first major protest of the br LGBTQ community for equal rights. They began after midnight br at the Stonewall Inn on br Christopher Street in br Greenwich Village. Police raided the br popular gay club for br operating without br a liquor license. After decades of being br targeted by the NYPD, br the patrons began to fight br back, throwing bottles at police. Several days of protests br followed, mobilizing into the br Gay Liberation Front and other br gay civil rights organizations. The NYPD made a formal br apology for its role in the br riots — and for the laws br that led to them — in 2019.