The American military tribunal hearing this case did not investigate it in depth, ruling that Reynolds was not guilty due to insufficient evidence, whereupon he was released and immediately repatriated. Massive media coverage triggered large-scale anti-American riots in Taiwan. This became known as the Liu Tzu-jan Incident.
負責審理此案的美國軍事法庭並未深究，便以證據不足為由，宣判雷諾無罪釋放並立即遣送返美，經媒體大幅報導後，引發台灣民眾大規模反美示威衝突，史稱「劉自然事件」。