On Monday, Apr. 27, videos and pictures of a chaotic Baltimore riot flooded the Internet. Scenes of rioters throwing bricks at police officers, running out of stores with armloads of stolen goods, and setting buildings and cars ablaze were all over the news. Baltimore seemed to have fallen into a state of complete anarchy.

The riots began during the afternoon, after fliers of a citywide “purge” were leaked (referring to the 2013 film, where all crime is legal for 24 hours). When police gathered at Mondawmin Mall, Baltimore citizens became upset and began attacking the police.

Many of the rioters claimed to be protesting the arrest — and death — of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black male, whose funeral took place earlier that day. Gray was arrested on Apr. 12 for reasons that still remain unclear to the public, and died a week later from a spine injury, which came from a bolt in the back of the police car. Details of Gray’s arrest and death are currently under investigation, but the rioters seem to blame police brutality and discrimination for the loss the Gray, saying they are crying out for justice.

While the riots made breaking news across the country, protests such as this are hardly new. In April of 1968, just after Martin Luther King, Jr. was fatally shot, the country erupted into civil disorder, with Baltimore claiming the highest levels of violence. History seems to have repeated itself, as records of the 1968 riot show citizens of the city burning and looting their own home and the National Guard being called in to control the protesters. These riots lasted a devastating eight days, compared to the 2015 riots, which only lasted one day.

Despite the similarities, the rioters from Monday night have their critics. Bishop Walter Thomas of the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore was among multiple clergymen, attempting to calm the crowds that night. Thomas, who was also around to see the 1968 riots, told ABC News that these events differ slightly. Thomas says in 1968, people were angry over the death of King, and that anger led to a genuine reform in the form of the Civil Rights Bill, but today, people feel despair and depression over the death of Gray.

“In 2015, people are not dreaming that dream,” Thomas told ABC News, referencing King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. He goes on to quote African-American poet, Langston Hughes, saying: “Hope unborn has died.”

People have not only lost faith in the police, but also in the president. In 1968, President Lyndon responded to the riots, saying the people were justified in their actions. “When you put your foot on a man’s neck and hold him down for 300 years, and then you let him up, what’s he going to do?” Lyndon asked the public. “He’s going to knock your block off.” The Civil Rights Act was then passed under Lyndon’s presidency that year.

However, President Obama upset many in his response to the riots, saying that he was dismayed by the violence and racial tension. “This is not new and we shouldn’t pretend that it’s new,” he told the media on Tuesday, the day after the riots. The president then went on to say that the city’s behavior was inexcusable. “That is not a protest. That is not a statement.  It’s…people taking advantage of a situation…and they need to be treated as criminals.”

While Obama seems to have less sympathy for the protesters than Lyndon, he made sure to shed light on the peaceful protests taking place in the city, saying the demonstrators who did it “the right way” need more attention.

Many, such as American history teacher, Timothy Rebb, agreed with the president. “No matter what the cause is, when there’s violence, it brings negative attention,” said Rebb. He went on to say that the media should give listen to the protesters who “actually have something to say”.

The case of Freddie Gray can now be added to the list of black lives taken while under police custody. The people’s frustration is growing and the government has certainly taken note of that. What’s uncertain is whether the country will experience the same revolutionary results as 40 years ago, or if the people’s outcry will go in vain.