The Freedom Riders of Alabama and Mississippi

The next night there were some 1500 people packed into Ralph Abernathy's Baptist Church in Montgomery and support of the freedom riders. A crowd of 3000 white residents had assembled and attacked the congregants surrounding the church. The mob broke windows and set off tear gas canisters. Dr. King who by this point was a revered figure in the movement, learned that black taxi drivers were arming themselves to come out to rescue him. Under threat from President Kennedy to call in the regular army, the governor finally called up the Alabama National Guard to restore order. They finally arrived and dispersed the mob sometime in the early morning.