The Bell Riots were an event that took place in San Francisco on Earth in September 2024. They led to the end of the Sanctuary Districts and marked the real beginning of Humans working to find a lasting solution to resolve social problems. This would set humanity on the path to founding the United Federation of Planets.

HistoryEdit

By the 2020s, those without employment, as well as those with mental problems, were moved into the Sanctuary Districts, which would later become no more than slums.

In 2024, a riot began in San Francisco's Sanctuary District A in which several workers were taken prisoner. Benjamin Sisko, posing as Gabriel Bell, helped ensure the hostages survival. The American public was made aware of the true nature of the sanctuary districts after Jadzia Dax convinced Christopher Brynner to use his company's internet channel to show recordings of District inhabitants. However, the governor of California ordered the National Guard to move in and regain control, killing hundreds of the inhabitants. (DS9 episodes: "Past Tense, Part I", "Past Tense, Part II")

ImpactEdit

The outrage over the deaths of Bell and the several other Sanctuary District residents led to the districts being closed down and the beginning of the United States of America correcting its social problems. (DS9 episode: "Past Tense, Part I")

Capital punishment was abolished after the Bell Riots. (TLE novel: Well of Souls)

As bad as the Bell Riots were, they were not as bad as World War III and the Post-Atomic Horror. (TLE novel: The Sundered)

ConnectionsEdit

• Bell Riots article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.