Marion Barry Caught Smoking Crack (1990)

This day, January 19th, 1990, at the end of a joint sting operation by FBI agents and District of Columbia Police, DC Mayor Marion Barry is arrested and charged with drug possession for the use of crack cocaine.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the video of the incident went viral, led to an onslaught of scandal and punchlines about Barry — but never fully eroded DC resident’s support for their beloved mayor.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia