At 8 p.m. a big crowd gathered at Beck's Cove. They were told Pierce Power had been beaten so badly he was at home in bed. George Wilkinson warned the crowd against more fighting. But the people were outraged about their treatment by the police. They shouted for revenge. "Put her up," someone cried.²⁴ The crowd rushed onto Water Street. Some of the men ran down Bowring's Cove. They grabbed handfuls of stones. They ran west, smashing windows as they went. By the time the crowd reached Springdale Street, twenty store windows had been broken. Men stole shoes, boots, clothing, and food from the window displays. Five truckloads of police arrived and cleared Water Street. Small groups of men ran down the back streets and threw stones at the police. The officers wore steel hats. They used their batons. The riot was over by 11 o'clock. The police watched the city all night.

On Saturday, May 11 four members of the Unemployed Committee were arrested. Pierce Power, Joseph Milley, George Wilkinson and Herbert Saunders were charged with causing a riot.

The trial began on May 27. The Crown called many witnesses against the Committee members. But by May 31 it was clear-Pierce Power and the other members of the Committee had not told anyone to riot. They had done just the opposite. They had asked for calm. All four men were found not guilty. They were followed home from court by cheering crowds.

The Unemployed Committee did not meet for several months after the trial. When meetings were called again in August, most of the old members didn't show up. George Wilkinson had left Newfoundland, "his head beaten silly with billies."²⁵ Joseph Milley was asked to speak at a meeting on August 12. He refused. "What, and get the billy used on my head again? Nothin' cookin," he said.²⁶ And Pierce Power? He had gone away to work. The riot and the trial had been a great blow to the Unemployed Committee. The movement never really got back the strength it had before May 1935. Their peaceful and legal protests had been met with violence.