The Keene Pumpkin Festival riot was a conflict between college aged people and the police on the weekend of October 23rd in 2014. Intoxicated young people flipped cars, set property on fire and threw bottles and rocks at police. The weekend of unrest left thirty people seriously injured and around 120 people were arrested.
In these pages you will find an interview from a former Keene State student, now local politician, who witnessed the riots and was also directly involved in the group that worked to resolve the conflict before and after the 2014 riot. Also, there are two examples of major news broadcasts of the Pumpkin Festival Riot. The new’s portrayal of the conflict had a big impact on how it has talked about and remembered three years later.