Following the Battle of Endor, a riot erupted in Monument Plaza in Imperial Center, also known as the Imperial capital world of Coruscant. The citizens were celebrating the impending collapse of the Galactic Empire and the death of its Emperor, Sheev Palpatine. Palpatine had secretly been Darth Sidious, a Dark Lord of the Sith who had been secretly manipulating and corrupting the galaxy for decades. Gathering in the plaza, the people pulled down a statue of the Emperor before Imperial forces arrived to quell the disturbance and reestablish control.
During the Galactic Civil War, the Alliance to Restore the Republic initiated a comprehensive attack on the second Death Star. The Battle of Endor proved to be a pivotal moment in their struggle to overthrow the Galactic Empire. Emperor Darth Sidious himself was present on the Death Star, intending to lure the Rebel Alliance into a trap. However, the scheme backfired, and Darth Vader, his apprentice, killed the Emperor after being redeemed from the dark side of the Force by his son, Luke Skywalker. Shortly after the Emperor's demise, the Alliance Fleet annihilated the Death Star. These two victories plunged the Empire into disarray, while the Rebel Alliance celebrated their triumph on Endor.
Just as the Rebel Alliance celebrated on Endor, so did worlds throughout the galaxy, spanning from the Core Worlds to the most distant areas of the Outer Rim Territories. Among these was Imperial Center, a Core world that served as the capital of the Galactic Empire. In Monument Plaza, Coruscanti residents burst into celebration, with some even toppling a statue of Emperor Palpatine. They encircled the statue's neck with chains and ropes, proceeding to pull it down, aided by speeders whose acceleration facilitated the statue's removal from its base. The statue crashed to the ground, shattering into fragments; the head detached and landed in a nearby fountain.
As the statue was being destroyed, Coruscant Security Forces arrived at the plaza to restore order and immediately began firing, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians. Despite these actions, the citizens retaliated, hurling pieces of the Sidious statue at Imperial police speeders and even leaping onto the speeders to engage the officers directly. The police, however, persisted in firing, determined to regain control over the group of citizens that had transformed into a mob.
Despite the citizens' resistance during the riot, Imperial Center (known as Coruscant during the Old Republic) remained under Imperial authority. Nevertheless, some resistance fighters emerged in the days following the Battle of Endor and the riot, committed to liberating the planet from the Empire. The planet descended into a civil war as pro-Imperial Coruscanti and Imperial forces, led by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and the Imperial Security Bureau, clashed with pro-rebel Coruscanti and resistance forces.
The riot in Monument Plaza was initially depicted in the 1997 Special Edition re-release of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, showcasing the citizens of Coruscant overthrowing the statue of the Emperor and celebrating in the streets. The scene underwent slight revisions for the 2004 DVD release of the film, which incorporated the Galactic Senate Building and the Jedi Temple – later revealed to have been converted into the Imperial Palace – into the scene's background. Chuck Wendig expanded upon these events in his 2015 novel Aftermath, revealing that the celebration escalated into a full-scale riot upon the arrival of Imperial forces.