A transcription made of a White House tape recording dated May 5 , 1971 , documents that the planning phase of the Hard Hat Riot took place in the White House Oval Office . Colson is heard successfully instigating several New York State AFL-CIO union leaders into organizing an attack against student protesters in New York . These officials then armed some 200 construction workers in Lower Manhattan with lengths of steel re-bar which they , along with their hard hats , proceeded to use against about 1,000 high school and college students protesting the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings . The initial attack was near the intersection of Wall Street and Broad Street , but the riot soon spread to New York City Hall and lasted a little more than two hours . More than 70 people were injured , including four policemen . Six people were arrested
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Charles Colson