EPISODE FIVE: STATE OF TEXAS V. SCHWIDERSKI

In October 1979, Dallas police officers raided the Village Station nightclub in Oak Lawn and arrested ten patrons for public lewdness. Unlike most gay bar raids before 1979 when arrestees would quietly plead guilty and pay a fine, this time eight men fought their charges in court. One of those defendants was Richard Schwiderski, whose trial attracted the most media attention. What was the outcome of this case? And how did this event become known as “Dallas’s Stonewall?”

EPISODE 5 TRANSCRIPT