<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former San Francisco council member Dan White was acquitted of the murder of his colleague </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-defence-secretary-pete-hegseth-orders-renaming-of-ship-after-harvey-milk-gay-rights-icon/9f22161b-1fd1-40a1-ab5d-f98ce72cb7b6" rel="" target="" title="Harvey Milk"><span>Harvey Milk</span></a><span> and Mayor George Moscone on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-may-21-what-happened-on-this-day/33c554ee-600e-4bb2-bc56-316cc3076648" rel="" target="" title="May 21, 1979"><span>May 21, 1979</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>White shot Milk and Moscone in their offices in cold blood.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>White had resigned as a member of the </span><a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/destinations/north-america/usa/san-francisco" rel="" target="" title="San Francisco Board of Supervisors"><span>San Francisco Board of Supervisors</span></a><span> in November, citing his struggles to get by financially in the elected position.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-may-19-what-happened-on-this-day-primmie-niven/c495f45a-eb30-4679-9a1e-737519ff2e80"><strong><span>A-lister's wife killed during hide-and-seek freak accident</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Four days later, he changed his mind and tried to reverse his resignation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the paperwork was binding, and Moscone refused to reappoint him to the position, at the behest of Milk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Milk was the first openly gay man elected to major political office anywhere in the US.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-may-21-what-happened-on-this-day-dan-white-twinkie-defence/95b24be2-b3fe-4590-82c4-4b265a4b1caf" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>White slipped through a window of City Hall to avoid a metal detector, then walked into Moscone's office and killed him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As he ran down a hall, fellow supervisor </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-democratic-senator-dianne-feinstein-of-california-dies-at-age-90/f2929c30-a393-4fa7-90b9-e105f8e7bfab" rel="" target="" title="Dianne Feinstein"><span>Dianne Feinstein</span></a><span> called out to talk to him, unaware of what he had just done.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I have something to do first," White told her.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He then went into Milk's office and asked to speak with him in private.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the doors closed, White shot White five times.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Feinstein would later find Milk's body.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-may-15-what-happened-on-this-day-larry-bader-fritz-johnson/dc94547b-999d-4a04-a841-f700bda23f37"><strong><span>TV presenter's secret past not even he knew about</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>White's lawyers successfully argued a chemical imbalance in his brain led to the killings, as illustrated by his increased intake of junk food.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The notorious "Twinkie defence" led to his acquittal of murder and conviction of voluntary manslaughter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Contrary to popular belief, his lawyers did not argue that his consumption of Twinkies, a popular sweet treat, led to the killing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He spent just five years in prison before getting parole.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Dan White has gotten away with murder. It's as simple as that," another supervisor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The night of White's conviction, protesters set fire to police cars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Make sure you put in the paper that I ate too many Twinkies," one arsonist told a reporter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police retaliated by beating gay men indiscriminately across the city.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A Navy vessel was named after Harvey Milk, a Navy veteran, in 2021.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last year, the Trump administration </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-defence-secretary-pete-hegseth-orders-renaming-of-ship-after-harvey-milk-gay-rights-icon/9f22161b-1fd1-40a1-ab5d-f98ce72cb7b6" rel="" target="" title="ordered the ship be renamed"><span>ordered the ship be renamed</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/today-in-history-may-13-what-happened-on-this-day-ben-carlin/96d8cca3-9989-4b73-a5e8-c744954b1795"><strong><span>Australian adventurer circumnavigates the globe in a modified Ford</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span></div></div>