29 Apr.

Rioting erupts in South Central Los Angeles after four police officers accused of beating Rodney King are either acquitted or given light sentences. The rioting lasts until 2 May.

The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified; it restricts compensation, voted upon by senators and representatives for themselves, from going into effect until after an intervening election year.

21 Aug.

Samuel Weaver, the fourteen-year-old son of Randy Weaver, is shot and killed by a U.S. Marshal during a standoff between Weaver and federal agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The following day, Weaver's wife, Vicki, is shot and killed by federal agents.

25 Sept.

Gregory Kingsley, a minor at the time, is legally emancipated from his biological mother by a Florida judge on the grounds she neglected and abused him.