New York's First Antigay Raid Remembered

A 1903 raid on New York's Ariston Baths has the dubious distinction of being the first antigay raid led by the city's police, according to LGBT blog Towleroad. Police detained 60 men and arrested 14 during a raid on the bathhouse on February, 21, 1903. Blogger Andrew Belonsky writes that he visited New York's John Jay Criminal College's Lloyd Sealy Library to read court transcripts and remarks on the details that were recorded, including questions about the state of the arrested men's genitals. Belonsky reveals that of 12 men put on trial, seven received multiple years in prison.