In September 1919, following a summer of racial riots in several other industrial cities, an African-American laborer named Willy Brown was lynched in Omaha. He had been accused of raping a young white woman. A mob of 5,000 ethnic white men marched from South Omaha (some young men were classmates of the woman) and appeared at the Douglas County Courthouse to demand "justice". Within hours the mob grew to 10,000 people. Many were drinking. When the reform mayor Edward P. Smith attempted to intervene, he was nearly lynched by the mob. Only a last-minute rescue saved him from being hanged. The mob threw stones at windows, far outnumbered the police, and set the courthouse on fire to force the release of Brown. The police turned him over to save other prisoners. In a frenzy, the mob hung Brown from a lamppost and shot him, later dragged his body and burned it. The mob turned against police vehicles and attacked any blacks they found in the street. They began to move toward a large African-American enclave in North Omaha. The city and governor had called in the U.S. Army from Fort Omaha to intervene. It stationed troops in North Omaha to protect the blacks, and after gaining control of the mob, in South Omaha to prevent any more riots forming. An unseasonal rainstorm cooled the mob down as well. The Army commander established martial law for several days. A grand jury's investigation identified the mob as arising from South Omaha and being encouraged by the city's vice world. No one was charged in the events, however.
