HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Chicago Seven, originally the Chicago Eight and also known as the Conspiracy Eight or Conspiracy Seven, were seven defendants—
Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 De ...
,
David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...
,
John Froines John Radford Froines (; June 13, 1939 – July 13, 2022) was an American chemist and anti-war activist, noted as a member of the Chicago Seven, a group charged with involvement with the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicag ...
,
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
,
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
, Jerry Rubin, and
Lee Weiner Lee Weiner (born ) is an author and member of the Chicago Seven who was charged with "conspiring to use interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot" and "teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices that would be used in civil d ...
—charged by the United States federal government with conspiracy, crossing state lines with intent to incite a
riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
, and other charges related to anti-
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and
1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...
protests in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, during the
1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus maki ...
. The Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven after the case against co-defendant
Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...
was declared a
mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
. All of the defendants were charged with and acquitted of conspiracy; Davis, Dellinger, Hayden, Hoffman, and Rubin were charged with and convicted of crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot; Froines and Weiner were charged with teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices and acquitted of those charges. All of the convictions were later reversed on
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
and the government declined to retry the case. While the jury deliberated, Judge
Julius Hoffman Julius Jennings Hoffman (July 7, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He presided over the Chicago Seven ...
convicted the defendants and their attorneys for
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
and sentenced them to jail sentences ranging from less than three months to more than four years. The contempt convictions were also appealed, and some were retried before a different judge. Since the beginning of the trial in 1969, the defendants and their attorneys have been depicted in a variety of art forms, including film, music, and theater.


Background


Planning for the 1968 DNC protests

In the fall of 1967,
David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...
was the director of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (the Mobe), and planning began during Mobe meetings for an anti-war demonstration at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. In early 1968, the
Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...
against American forces in Vietnam started, and in February,
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
said the war was "lost." In March, Johnson ended his campaign for the nomination. Protests against the war continued, and
Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 De ...
and
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
became directors of the Mobe office in Chicago. A
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. H ...
group known as Yippies, including Jerry Rubin and
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
, also planned a "Festival of Life", announced at a press conference on March 17, as a response to what they described as the Democratic "Convention of Death". In January, the Yippies had issued a statement that included: "Join us in Chicago in August for an international festival of youth music and theater ... Come all you rebels, youth spirits, rock minstrels, truth seekers, peacock freaks, poets, barricade jumpers, dancers, lovers and artists ... We are there! There are 500,000 of us dancing in the streets, throbbing with amplifiers and harmony. We are making love in the parks ..." In a March meeting at Lake Villa, Illinois, coordination of demonstrations was discussed by representatives from various groups; Hayden and Davis drafted a proposal that included "the campaign should not plan violence and disruption against the Democratic National Convention. It should be nonviolent and legal." Following the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at ...
in April 1968, there were riots in Chicago and other cities. In June 1968, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Most of the permits applied for by the Mobe and the Yippies for protest-related activities were denied. Rennie Davis sought help from the Justice Department, and argued permits would lower the risk of violence between protesters and police, but was unsuccessful. A week before the start of the convention, Mobe organizers sued in federal court to obtain permits to use the parks, but were denied on August 23.


The 1968 DNC protests

A variety of groups convened in Chicago to protest during the convention week, including the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (the Mobe) and the Yippies. The
Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...
and the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civ ...
also sent representatives to protest racism. On Friday, August 23, the Yippies nominated their own candidate for president: a 145-pound pig they called Pigasus, who according to Frank Kusch, was "released to the public" at the Civic Center Plaza and promptly "arrested" by police as he was "interviewed" by journalists. Five Yippies were taken to jail, including Jerry Rubin and
Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
, while Pigasus was released to the Chicago Humane Society, and the Yippies were released after they each posted a $25 bond. By the weekend before the convention, about 2,000 demonstrators had set up camp in
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
. On Saturday, August 24, Lincoln Park was cleared almost without incident, with
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
leading many protesters out of the park before the 11 p.m. curfew. According to Frank Kusch, police cleared the park and arrested eleven people for failing to disperse, while a crowd outside of the park suddenly ran toward the main street in Old Town yelling "Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!" and then marched for ten blocks before police arrived and the demonstrators quickly blended into the regular crowds on the sidewalks. For the convention, the 11,900 members of the Chicago Police Department were put on twelve-hour shifts, and nearly 6,000 members of the National Guard were sent to the city, with an additional 5,000 National Guard on alert, and approximately 1,000 FBI and military intelligence officers, and 1,000 Secret Service agents were in the city. The 4,865 city firefighters were ordered to work extra shifts beginning on the Sunday before the convention, and the Chicago Police Department placed 1,500 uniformed officers outside the
International Amphitheatre The International Amphitheatre was an indoor arena located in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1934 and was demolished in 1999. It was located on the west side of Halsted Street, at 42nd Street, on the city's south side, in the Canaryville n ...
, where the Democratic convention was held, including snipers. The number of demonstrators in Chicago was estimated to be about 10,000. From inside the International Amphitheatre, CBS evening news anchor
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
reported: "The Democratic convention is about to begin in a police state. There just doesn't seem to be any other way to say it." On Sunday, August 25, protest leaders allegedly told people to "test the curfew", while there were several thousand people in
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
, around bonfires, beating drums, and chanting. When the park was officially closed at 11 p.m., Chicago police used tear gas and moved in with billy-clubs to forcibly remove them from the park. Police formed a skirmish line and cleared the park, ending up on Stockton Drive, with about 200 police facing about 2,000 protesters. Protesters, journalists, photographers, and bystanders were clubbed and beaten by the police. On August 26, demonstrators gathered in Grant Park and climbed on a statue of General Logan on a horse, which led to violent skirmishes with police. Police hauled a young man down and arrested him, breaking his arm in the process. The only permit granted to the Mobe for the convention week was for a rally at the Grant Park band shell for the afternoon of August 28, and it was granted on August 27, after the convention began.
David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...
told members of the media, "We'll march with or without a permit", and that Grant Park was only a "staging area for the march". On the morning of August 28, Abbie Hoffman was arrested for writing the word "FUCK" on his forehead. In the afternoon, Dellinger, Seale, Davis, and Hayden addressed thousands of demonstrators at the band shell in Grant Park. After the rally at the Grant Park bandshell, several thousand protesters attempted to march to the International Amphitheatre, but were stopped in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel, where the presidential candidates and campaigns were headquartered, by what David Taylor and Sam Morris of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' describe as "a phalanx of National Guard armed with M1 rifles, backed by machine guns and jeeps with cages on top and barbed wire frames in front." In a sit down protest, the crowd chanted " the whole world is watching". "The Battle of Michigan Avenue", described by
Neil Steinberg Neil Steinberg (born June 10, 1960) is an American news columnist for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and an author. He joined the paper's staff in 1987. Steinberg has written for a wide variety of publications, including ''Esquire'', ''The Washington P ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' as "a 17-minute melee in front of the
Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton Sr. (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916 Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disi ...
", was broadcast on television, along with footage from the floor of the convention. The police violence extended to protesters, bystanders, reporters and photographers, while
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...
reached
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing ...
in his hotel suite. Police pushed protesters through plate-glass windows, then pursued them inside and beat them as they sprawled on the broken glass. 100 protesters and 119 police officers were treated for injuries, and 600 protesters were arrested. Police brutality and demonstrators chanting " The whole world is watching" were filmed by national news outlets and broadcast on the same night that Humphrey won the presidential nomination. Paul Cowan of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' reports that by Thursday, Tom Hayden was in disguise by Grant Park, Jerry Rubin was in jail, and Rennie Davis was recovering from a beating by the police. After a speech by
Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...
in Grant Park that afternoon, a march was joined by delegates and McCarthy supporters but was stopped at 18th Street and Michigan Avenue by the National Guard. Arrests were followed by tear gas and mace, while marchers chanted " The whole world is watching" and retreated to Grant Park. In the park, demonstrators sang "
God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature s ...
", "
This Land Is Your Land "This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", with melody based on a Carter Fam ...
", and "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...
", and waved "V" signs above their heads, asking soldiers to join in. They never did.
Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
sang " I Ain't Marchin' Any More", and demonstrators chanted "join us" softly. Five hours later, police officers raided a party organized by McCarthy workers in the Hilton hotel, and beat them viciously. According to the McCarthy workers, all telephones on their floor had been disconnected a half hour before, and they had no way to call for help.


Investigation of the violence

Investigations were conducted by the City of Chicago, the U.S. Department of Justice, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), and the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. On September 6, 1968, the Daley administration issued a report that focused on "outside agitators" with an "avowed purpose of a hostile confrontation with law enforcement." Bruce Ragsdale writes that the HUAC chair, Richard Ichord, "suspected communist involvement in the demonstrations", but the hearings "devolved into a bizarre preview of the conspiracy trial when a shirtless, barefooted Jerry Rubin burst into the hearing room with a bandolier of bullets and a toy gun." In October 1968,
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
was arrested for wearing an American flag shirt while trying to attend a HUAC meeting after being subpoenaed to appear.
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
also testified during the hearings. On September 4, 1968,
Milton Eisenhower Milton Stover Eisenhower (September 15, 1899 – May 2, 1985) was an American academic administrator. He served as president of three major American universities: Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Johns Hopkins Universit ...
, chair of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, announced the commission would investigate and report its findings to President Lyndon Johnson. Supervised by Daniel Walker, more than 200 investigators conducted interviews of more than 1,400 witnesses and reviewed FBI reports and film. The Walker Report was released on December 1, 1968, and described the violence as a " police riot". The report summary included: :That some policemen lost control of themselves under exceedingly provocative circumstances can perhaps be understood; but not condoned. If no action is taken against them, the effect can only be to discourage the majority of policemen who acted responsibly, and further weaken the bond between police and community. The Walker Report also acknowledged provocation and violence by some protesters and stated the "vast majority of the demonstrators were intent on expressing by peaceful means their dissent." The Department of Justice investigation did not support prosecution of demonstrators. Attorney General
Ramsey Clark William Ramsey Clark (December 18, 1927 – April 9, 2021) was an American lawyer, activist, and federal government official. A progressive, New Frontier liberal, he occupied senior positions in the United States Department of Justice under Pres ...
asked the U.S. attorney in Chicago to investigate the Chicago police.


Grand jury and indictment

On September 9, 1968, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois began to investigate demonstration organizers for federal law violations and police officers for civil rights violations. On March 20, 1969, the grand jury indictments of eight demonstrators and eight police officers were publicly announced. Seven police officers were charged with assault and one police officer was charged with perjury. The charges against the demonstrators were the first prosecutions under the anti-riot provisions of Title X of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. All were charged with conspiring to use interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot.
David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...
,
Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 De ...
,
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
,
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
, Jerry Rubin, and
Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...
were also charged with crossing state lines with the intent to incite a riot.
John Froines John Radford Froines (; June 13, 1939 – July 13, 2022) was an American chemist and anti-war activist, noted as a member of the Chicago Seven, a group charged with involvement with the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicag ...
and
Lee Weiner Lee Weiner (born ) is an author and member of the Chicago Seven who was charged with "conspiring to use interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot" and "teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices that would be used in civil d ...
, were charged with teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices that would be used in civil disturbances. Sixteen others were named by the grand jury as alleged co-conspirators, but not indicted: Wolfe B. Lowenthal, Stewart E. Albert, Sidney M. Peck,
Kathy Boudin Kathy Boudin (May 19, 1943 – May 1, 2022) was an American radical leftist who served 23 years in prison for felony murder based on her role in the 1981 Brink's robbery. The robbery resulted in the killing of two Nyack, New York, police offic ...
, Corina F. Fales, Benjamin Radford, Thomas W. Neumann, Craig Shimabukuro, Bo Taylor, David A. Baker, Richard Bosciano, Terry Gross, Donna Gripe, Benjamin Ortiz, Joseph Toornabene, and Richard Palmer.


Trial

The original eight defendants were
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
, Jerry Rubin,
David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...
,
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
,
Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 De ...
,
John Froines John Radford Froines (; June 13, 1939 – July 13, 2022) was an American chemist and anti-war activist, noted as a member of the Chicago Seven, a group charged with involvement with the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicag ...
,
Lee Weiner Lee Weiner (born ) is an author and member of the Chicago Seven who was charged with "conspiring to use interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot" and "teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices that would be used in civil d ...
, and
Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...
. The defense attorneys were
William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Civi ...
,
Leonard Weinglass Leonard Irving Weinglass (August 27, 1933 – March 23, 2011) was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate, best known for his defense of participants in the 1960s counterculture. He was admitted to the bar in New Jer ...
of the
Center for Constitutional Rights The Center for Constitutional RightsThe Center for Constitutional Rights
(CCR) is a
, as well as Michael Kennedy,
Michael Tigar Michael Edward Tigar (born January 18, 1941 in Glendale, California) is an American criminal defense attorney known for representing controversial clients, a human rights activist and a scholar and law teacher. Tigar is an emeritus (retired) me ...
,
Charles Garry Charles R. Garry (March 17, 1909 – August 16, 1991) was an Armenian-American civil rights attorney who represented a number of high-profile clients in political cases during the 1960s and 1970s, including Huey P. Newton during his 1968 capital ...
, Gerald Lefcourt, and Dennis Roberts. The presiding judge was
Julius Hoffman Julius Jennings Hoffman (July 7, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He presided over the Chicago Seven ...
(no relation to Abbie), and the prosecutors were Richard Schultz and
Tom Foran Thomas Aquinas Foran (January 11, 1924 – August 6, 2000) was a United States Attorney best known as the chief prosecutor in the Chicago Seven conspiracy trial in which seven defendants, including Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, David Dellinger, Re ...
.


Trial begins

The trial began on September 24, 1969. In his opening statement, when prosecutor Richard Schultz mentioned Abbie Hoffman, Abbie Hoffman stood up and blew the jury a kiss, and the judge said, "The jury is directed to disregard the kiss from Mr. Hoffman." The government called 53 witnesses, including undercover police officer Robert Pierson, who worked as a bodyguard for Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, and testified that on August 26, 1968, he heard Abbie Hoffman say "If they push us out of the park tonight, we're going to break windows", and about statements made by Rubin, Seale, and Davis. Police officer William Frapolly testified about his undercover work, which included joining
Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
and the National Mobilization Committee. Frapolly testified he heard most of the defendants say they intended to incite police confrontations and other disturbances; he also testified that Weiner and Froines discussed incendiary devices and chemical bombs.


Bobby Seale

Seale was initially represented by
Charles Garry Charles R. Garry (March 17, 1909 – August 16, 1991) was an Armenian-American civil rights attorney who represented a number of high-profile clients in political cases during the 1960s and 1970s, including Huey P. Newton during his 1968 capital ...
, who appeared at the April 9 arraignment. Before the trial began, Seale had been indicted in Connecticut on charges of conspiracy to murder a suspected police informant and was therefore denied bail during the trial. Garry became unable to travel due to his need to recover from a surgery, and Judge Hoffman denied the request to postpone the trial start date. The judge also refused to allow Seale to represent himself, in part because Kunstler had signed an appearance for Seale on September 24 to be able to visit him in jail, so Kunstler's request to withdraw as Seale's attorney was an "absolutely discretionary" decision by the judge, and Judge Hoffman decided Seale was represented by Kunstler. Seale protested the judge's actions, arguing that they were not only illegal, but also racist, telling the court on September 26, "If I am consistently denied this right of legal defense counsel of my choice, who is effective, by the judge of this court, then I can only see the judge as a blatant racist of the United States court." Seale had been in Chicago for less than 24 hours over two days of the convention week and had been invited shortly before the convention began as a substitute for
Eldridge Cleaver Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...
, so the evidence against him was testimony from undercover police officer Robert Pierson, about a speech by Seale in Lincoln Park, where according to Pierson, Seale had urged his audience to "barbecue some pork", and Judge Hoffman, over the objection of the defense, allowed Pierson to give his opinion that this meant "to burn some pigs", i.e., police officers. On the morning of October 29, after Seale called Judge Hoffman a "rotten racist pig, fascist liar", the judge responded: "Let the record show the tone of Mr. Seale's voice was one of shrieking and pounding on the table and shouting", and Seale replied, "If a witness is on the stand and testifies against me and I stand up and speak out in behalf of my right to have my lawyer and to defend myself and you deny me that, I have a right to make those requests. I have a right to make those demands on my constitutional rights. I have a constitutional right to speak, and if you try to suppress my constitutional right to speak out in behalf of my constitutional rights, then I can only see you as a bigot, a racist, and a
fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
, and I have said before and clearly indicated on the record." In the afternoon session of October 29, Judge Hoffman ordered Seale to be bound, gagged, and chained to a chair. According to John Schultz, when the jury was allowed into the courtroom, juror Jean Fritz began weeping, and other jurors "squirmed hard in their seats at the sight." On three days, Seale appeared in court bound and gagged before the jury, struggling to get free, and at times managing to loudly insist on his right to defend himself. On October 30, in open court, Kunstler declared, "This is no longer a court of order, your Honor; this is a medieval torture chamber." On November 5, the judge declared a
mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
for Seale, and the Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven, with Seale's case severed for a later trial that never occurred.


A political trial

On October 15, when the first Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was observed across the country, the defendants attempted to place American and South Vietnamese flags on the defense table, but Judge Hoffman demanded them removed, stating, "Whatever decoration there is the courtroom will be furnished by the government and I think things look alright in this courtroom." On November 15, the second day of the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, Abbie Hoffman brought a Viet Cong flag into the courtroom and then wrestled over it with deputy marshal Ronald Dobroski. Abbie Hoffman and Rennie Davis testified at the trial. On December 29, when asked about his arrest on August 28 for writing "FUCK" on his forehead, Abbie Hoffman testified, "I put it on for a couple of reasons, one was that I was tired of seeing my picture in the paper and having newsmen come around, and I know if you got that word on your forehead they ain't going to print your picture in the paper. Secondly, it sort of summed up my attitude about the whole thing—what was going on in Chicago." When asked whether he entered into an agreement with Dellinger, Froines, Hayden, Rubin, Weiner or Davis, to come to Chicago for the purpose of encouraging and promoting violence during the Convention week, Abbie Hoffman replied, "We couldn't agree on lunch." When asked by the prosecution about whether it was "a fact that one of the reasons why you came to Chicago was simply to wreck American society", he replied: : My feeling at the time, and still is, that society is going to wreck itself. I said that on a number of occasions, that our role is to survive while the society comes tumbling down around us; our role is to survive. We have to learn how to defend ourselves, given this type of society, because of the war in Vietnam, because of racism, because of the attack on the cultural revolution—in fact because of this trial. The trial lasted for months, with over 100 witnesses called by the defense, including singers
Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
,
Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
,
Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gu ...
, and
Country Joe McDonald Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.Richard Brenneman"Country Joe McDonald Revives Anti-War Anthem", '' Berkeley ...
; comedian
Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...
; writers
Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Maile ...
and
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
; and activists
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...
and
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
. Phil Ochs, who helped organize some of the demonstrations, told the court he had acquired the pig, called Pigasus, to nominate as the Yippie presidential candidate before being arrested with Rubin and other participants. Judy Collins attempted to sing "
Where Have All the Flowers Gone? "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is a modern folk-style song. Inspired lyrically by the traditional Cossack folk song "Koloda-Duda", Pete Seeger borrowed an Irish melody and the first three verses in 1955 and published it in '' Sing Out!'' mag ...
" during her testimony, before Judge Hoffman forbade it, so Collins recited the lyrics instead. Allen Ginsberg recited poetry and chants, including O-o-m-m-m-m-m, while providing testimony about his participation in the demonstrations. On January 28, 1970,
Ramsey Clark William Ramsey Clark (December 18, 1927 – April 9, 2021) was an American lawyer, activist, and federal government official. A progressive, New Frontier liberal, he occupied senior positions in the United States Department of Justice under Pres ...
, the U.S. Attorney General under President
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
during the 1968 Democratic Convention, was barred by the judge from testifying before the jury after Clark testified outside the presence of the jury. Judge Hoffman upheld the prosecution's objections to 14 of Kunstler's 38 questions, but Clark did testify that he had told Foran to investigate through Justice Department lawyers "as is generally done in civil rights cases", rather than through a grand jury. On February 5, Abbie Hoffman shouted, "Your idea of justice is the only obscenity in this court, Julie", at Judge Hoffman and then yelled '' shande fur de goyim'' at him, after Rubin told the judge, "Every kid in the world hates you because they know what you represent. You are synonymous with
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
. Adolf Hitler equals Julius Hitler." These insults had followed Judge Hoffman stating that he intended to continue using the revocation of bail in response to the use of "vile epithets" in the courtroom, while the defense attorneys were arguing against the revocation of Dellinger's bail the day before, after Dellinger shouted a "barnyard vulgarity" at a government witness. On February 6, Abbie Hoffman and Rubin wore judicial robes to court, then threw them down and stepped on them. On February 14, the case went to the jury, and the jury returned its verdict on February 18.


Contempt citations

During the proceedings, all of the defendants and nearly all of their attorneys were cited for
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
by Judge Hoffman.


Pre-trial

Attorneys Michael Kennedy, Dennis Roberts,
Michael Tigar Michael Edward Tigar (born January 18, 1941 in Glendale, California) is an American criminal defense attorney known for representing controversial clients, a human rights activist and a scholar and law teacher. Tigar is an emeritus (retired) me ...
, and Gerald Lefcourt assisted the defense with pretrial motions. Before the trial began, Judge Hoffman held them all in contempt after they attempted to withdraw from the case, issued bench warrants for their arrest, and had Tigar and Lefcourt jailed. After two of the warrants were invalidated by the United States District Court in San Francisco, and while the court was being picketed by protesting attorneys, Judge Hoffman permitted the withdrawal of the attorneys from the case.


Bobby Seale

On November 5, 1969, after declaring a mistrial in the prosecution of Bobby Seale, Judge Hoffman convicted Seale on 16 charges of contempt, and sentenced Seale to three months in prison on each count — a total of four years, which may have been the longest contempt sentence in U.S. history at the time.


Post-trial

While the jury deliberated on the verdict for the remaining defendants, Judge Hoffman convicted all the defendants—and their attorneys Kunstler and Weinglass—on a total of 159 counts of criminal contempt. The sentences for the defendants and their attorneys were as follows: * Dellinger: 29 months and 16 days on 32 counts * Davis: 25 months and 14 days on 23 counts * Froines: 5 months and 15 days on 10 counts * Hayden: 14 months and 14 days for 11 counts * Hoffman: 8 months for 24 counts * Rubin: 25 months and 23 days for 16 counts * Weiner: 2 months and 18 days on 7 counts * Weinglass: 20 months and 16 days on 14 counts * Kunstler: 48 months and 13 days on 24 counts Six of the seven defendants remanded to jail received haircuts in the Cook County Jail; John Kifner of ''The New York Times'' reports that David Dellinger did not, and the others were "shorn of their long hair for what jail officials announced were 'sanitary reasons, while the lawyers' sentences were stayed until May 4, to allow them to work on the appeal. After the haircuts,
Cook County Sheriff The Cook County Sheriff is the sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Recent election results , - , colspan=16 style="text-a ...
Joseph I. Woods showed pictures of the defendants to an audience on February 23, 1970, that Kifner reports consisted of "about 100 laughing and applauding members of the Elk Grove Township Republican organization at a meeting in the suburban Mount Prospect Country Club." The defendants were released from jail on February 28, 1970.


Verdict

On February 18, 1970, the jury acquitted all seven defendants of conspiracy and acquitted Froines and Weiner on all charges. The jury found Davis, Dellinger, Hayden, Hoffman, and Rubin guilty of traveling across state lines with intent to incite a riot. In a separate trial, seven of the police officers were acquitted by the jury, and the case against the eighth was dismissed by the prosecution.


Sentencing

On February 20, 1970, in the sentencing phase of the trial, the defendants made statements, including
David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...
, whose statement included: : atever happens to us, however unjustified, will be slight compared to what has happened already to the Vietnamese people, to the black people in this country, to the criminals with whom we are now spending our days in the Cook County jail. I must have already lived longer than the normal life expectancy of a black person born when I was born, or born now. I must have already lived longer, 20 years longer, than the normal life expectancy in the underdeveloped countries which this country is trying to profiteer from and keep under its domain and control ... nding us to prison, any punishment the Government can impose upon us, will not solve the problem of this country's rampant racism, will not solve the problem of economic injustice, it will not solve the problem of the foreign policy and the attacks upon the underdeveloped people of the world. The Government has misread the times in which we live, just like there was a time when it was possible to keep young people, women, black people, Mexican-American, anti-war people, people who believe in truth and justice and really believe in democracy, which it is going to be possible to keep them quiet or suppress them.
Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 De ...
told Judge Hoffman, "You represent all that is old, ugly, bigoted, and repressive in this country, and I will tell you that the spirit of this defense table will devour your sickness in the next generation." The statement by
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
included: :We have known all along what the intent of the Government has been. We knew that before we set foot in the streets of Chicago. We knew that before we set foot on the streets of Chicago. We knew that before the famous events of August 28, 1968. If those events didn't happen, the Government would have had to invent them as I think it did for much of its evidence in this case, but because they were bound to put us away. They have failed. Oh, they are going to get rid of us, but they made us in the first place. We would hardly be notorious characters if they had left us alone in the streets of Chicago last year, but instead we became the architects, the masterminds, and the geniuses of a conspiracy to overthrow the government. We were invented. We were chosen by the Government to serve as scape goats for all that they wanted to prevent happening in the 1970s. The statement of
Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...
included a discussion of early American history, and: :In 1861 Abraham Lincoln in his inaugural address said, and I quote "When the people shall grow weary of their constitutional right to amend the government, they shall exert their revolutionary right to dismember and overthrow that government." If Abraham Lincoln had given that speech in Lincoln Park, he would be on trial right here in this courtroom, because that is an inciteful speech. That is a speech intended to create a riot. I don't even know what a riot is. I thought a riot was fun. Riot means you laugh, ha, ha. That is a riot. They call it a riot. :I didn't want to be that serious. I was supposed to be funny. I tried to be, I mean, but it was sad last night. I am not made to be a martyr. I tried to sign up a few years, but I went down there. They ran out of nails. What was I going to do? So I ended up being funny. It wasn't funny last night sitting in a prison cell, a 5 x 8 room, with no light in the room. I could have written a whole book last night. Nothing. No light in the room. Bedbugs all over. They bite. I haven't eaten in six days. I'm not on a hunger strike; you can call it that. It's just that the food stinks and I can't take it. :Well, we said it was like Alice in Wonderland coming in, now I feel like Alice in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, because I have lived through the winter of injustice in this trial. And it's fitting that if you went to the South and fought for voter registration and got arrested and beaten eleven or twelve times on those dusty roads for no bread, it's only fitting that you be arrested and tried under the civil rights act. That's the way it works. Judge Hoffman sentenced each convicted defendant to five years in prison, as well as a $5,000 fine and costs of prosecution.


Appeal

A
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of ...
panel composed of Walter Cummings, Thomas Fairchild, and Wilbur Pell heard the appeals related to the criminal convictions and contempt convictions. On May 11, 1972, the panel dismissed some contempt charges against the lawyers, and reversed all of the other contempt convictions for retrial with a different judge. Judge Edward Gignoux presided over the retrial and found Dellinger, Hoffman, Kunstler, and Rubin guilty of some of the charges but did not sentence any of them to jail or fines. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed four of the contempt convictions against Bobby Seale, remanded the other 12 for retrial before another judge, and the government declined to prosecute the remaining contempt charges. On November 21, 1972, all of the criminal convictions were reversed by the panel. The majority opinion of the court unanimously found several errors by Judge Hoffman and censured Judge Hoffman and the prosecutors for their conduct during the trial. The court noted, "the demeanor of the judge and the prosecutors would require reversal even if errors did not." Pell wrote a separate opinion concurring with the reversal of the convictions, and finding Title X of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which appl ...
, known as the Anti-Riot Act, to be an unconstitutional infringement of freedom of speech; this was not part of the majority opinion and therefore did not invalidate the statute. The U.S. Department of Justice announced in January 1973 that it would not retry the defendants.


Cultural representations


Art

* On September 25, 1969,
Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...
made his first wall-sized mural portrait of the Chicago Seven. It was first exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in the summer of 1970 and has since been exhibited in museums around the world. Avedon called the group of defendants "heroic". According to Froines and Weiner, an Avedon photo was used in thank you cards, holiday greetings, and fundraising requests sent to supporters. * During the trial, a poster created by Sharon Avery and featuring a photograph by Michael Abramson, that said "make a new year's revolution, kids! it'll bring you closer together" depicting Lee Weiner and his girlfriend at the time, Sharon Avery, nude and with Christmas tree lights in their hair, was distributed "to the young people waiting out on the cold to sit in on our trial to thank them for supporting us", according to Weiner. *
Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...
drew the poster for The Conspiracy Stomp, a benefit for the Chicago Eight held at the Aragon Ballroom on November 28, 1969. *
David Hammons David Hammons (born July 24, 1943) is an American artist, best known for his works in and around New York City and Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life David Hammons was born in 1943 in Springfield, Illinois, the youngest of ten ...
, in 'Injustice Case', depicted an African-American man bound to a chair and gagged that "[recalls] how Black Panther leader Bobby Seale was bound and gagged in a Chicago courtroom."


Film

* In Haskell Wexler's 1969 film ''Medium Cool'', Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'' writes that Wexler "uses some of the real events of [1968] ... as backgrounds that are extensions of the fictional characters." *In 1970, the BBC produced ''The Chicago Conspiracy Trial'', with Ronny Cox as Jerry Rubin, Cliff Gorman as Abbie Hoffman, and Al Freeman Jr. as Bobby Seale; the re-creation of the trial was aired in the US by PBS in July 1975. *In 1970, Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin, of the Dziga Vertov Group, made a parody film of the Chicago 8 trial called ''Vladimir et Rosa''. *In the 1971 Peter Watkins film ''Punishment Park'', fictional members of the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture are put on trial for similar "crimes". *In the 1971 film ''Bananas (film), Bananas'', Woody Allen makes a reference to the binding and gagging of Bobby Seale during the Chicago 8 trial. Allen's character, Fielding Melish, is on trial and defending himself. The judge orders Melish bound and gagged. While bound and gagged, he cross-examines a prosecution witness. * The 1971 Kerry Feltham film ''The Great Chicago Conspiracy Circus'' was based on the trial transcript and Lewis Carroll's ''Alice in Wonderland''. *The 1987 Jeremy Kagan made-for-HBO movie ''Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8'' was adapted from the Ron Sossi and Frank Condon play ''The Chicago Conspiracy Trial'', is based on the courtroom transcripts, and includes brief interviews with participants in the trial. *The 2000 Robert Greenwald film ''Steal This Movie'' is mostly about Abbie Hoffman (played by Vincent D'Onofrio), and looks at the trial. *In the 2007 Brett Morgen film ''Chicago 10 (film), Chicago 10'', archival footage, including Chicago in August 1968, is mixed with animated scenes based on the trial transcript. *The 2010 documentary ''Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune'' features interviews with a variety of Ochs' associates, including Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, and Abbie Hoffman. Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' writes, "Ochs's involvement with the civil rights and antiwar movements and his presence at the 1968 Democratic National Convention make "There but for Fortune" not only a biography but also a running history of the period's left-wing activism, replete with film clips of that decade's tragic events". * The 2012 Pinchas Perry film ''The Chicago 8'' includes dialogue from some of the trial transcripts. * The 2020 Aaron Sorkin film ''The Trial of the Chicago 7'' was distributed by Netflix. The cast features Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Flaherty, John Carroll Lynch, Eddie Redmayne, Noah Robbins, Alex Sharp, and Jeremy Strong (actor), Jeremy Strong as the Chicago Seven with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, and Mark Rylance in other roles.


Music

*
Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
released his 1969 album ''Rehearsals for Retirement'' with an image of his own tombstone on the cover, inscribed: "Born: El Paso, Texas 1940" and "Died: Chicago, Illinois 1968", which according to Ryan Smith of ''Chicago Reader'', is an "obvious reference" to Ochs' role in the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests; the album also includes the song "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park", which describes Chicago during the convention. During the convention protests, Ochs described playing his song I Ain't Marching Any More (song), "I Ain't Marching Anymore" at a demonstration in Grant Park as "the highlight of [his] career." Ochs brought his guitar and was prepared to sing "I Ain't Marching Anymore" during his testimony at the trial of the Chicago Seven, but was denied the opportunity by the judge. * The 1969 song "Someday (August 29, 1968)" from the first Chicago (band), Chicago (then Chicago Transit Authority) Chicago Transit Authority (album), self-titled album. * The 1970 song "Peace Frog" by the Doors includes the line "Blood in the streets/ in the town of Chicago". * The 1971 song "Chicago (Graham Nash song), Chicago" by Graham Nash, on Nash's solo debut album, ''Songs for Beginners'' was inspired by the anti-Vietnam protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the trial of the Chicago Eight, and the song opens with a reference to Bobby Seale, who was gagged and chained in the courtroom. * Researcher Justin Brummer, founding editor of the Vietnam War Song Project has catalogued over 25 songs that reference the Chicago Seven/Eight and/or the demonstrations during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, including "Telling It Straight in '68" by country artist Jim Hartley, "Where Were You in Chicago" by
Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
, "Circus '68 '69" (1970) by Charlie Haden, "Christmas in My Soul" (1970) by Laura Nyro, "Free Bobby Now" (1970) by Black Panther Party, Black Panther group The Lumpen (about
Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...
), "Chicago's 7" by Walt Wilder, "Chicago 7" by Warren Farren, "Chicago Seven" (1971) by blues artist Memphis Slim, and "The Chicago Conspiracy" (1972) by David Peel (musician), David Peel.


Theatre and plays

*The 1970 Off-Broadway play ''The Chicago 70'' was an improvised drama by the Toronto Workshop Company based on the Chicago Seven trial transcripts and Lewis Carroll's ''Alice in Wonderland''. *In 1972, playwright and screenwriter David Petersen's play ''Little Orphan Abbie'' based on the transcript of the trial, opened in Seattle, directed by Jody Briggs and starring Glenn Mazen. It was slated for production in New York by director Joe Papp, but had to be postponed and finally cancelled due to extended runs of other plays. It was later produced in Los Angeles, first on stage at the Burbage Theater, directed by Ron Hunter. It was later shot for television by Telemedia Productions, directed by Dick Studebaker. The television version used stock footage of the events in the parks and on the streets of Chicago during the riots. * In 1979, ''The Chicago Conspiracy Trial'' by Ron Sossi and Frank Condon was staged by the Odyssey Theater Ensemble and is based on the trial transcripts. The 15th anniversary production by the Odyssey Theater Ensemble featured Allan Miller (William Kunstler), Albie Selznick (Leonard Weinglass), Paul Provenza (Abbie Hoffman) and George Murdock (Judge Hoffman). * The 1993 John Goodchild play ''The Chicago Conspiracy Trial'' is based on the trial transcripts and produced by L.A. Theatre Works, the BBC and WFMT. The cast included David Schwimmer (Abbie Hoffman), Tom Amandes (Richard Schultz), George Murdock (actor), George Murdock (Judge Julius Hoffman), and Mike Nussbaum (William Kunstler).


See also

* Days of Rage


References


Further reading

;Five editions of excerpts from the transcript of the trial have been published: * Edited by Judy Clavir and John Spitzer. ''The Conspiracy Trial: The Extended Edited Transcript of the Trial of the Chicago Eight. Complete With Motions, Rulings, Contempt Citations, Sentences and Photographs''. Introduction by
William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Civi ...
and foreword by
Leonard Weinglass Leonard Irving Weinglass (August 27, 1933 – March 23, 2011) was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate, best known for his defense of participants in the 1960s counterculture. He was admitted to the bar in New Jer ...
. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1970. . * ''Contempt: Transcript of the Contempt Citations, Sentences, and Responses of the Chicago Conspiracy 10''. With an introduction by Harry Kalvern Jr., a foreword by Ramsey Clark, and courtroom sketches by Bill Jones, John Downs, and James Yep. Chicago: The Swallow Press, 1970. * Edited and with illustrations by Jules Feiffer. ''Pictures at a Prosecution: Drawings and Texts from the Chicago Conspiracy Trial''. New York, Grove Press, Inc., 1971. * Edited by Mark L. Levine, George C. McNamee, and Daniel Greenberg. ''The Tales of Hoffman''. Introduction by Dwight Macdonald. New York: Bantam, 1970. * Edited with an introduction by Jon Wiener. ''Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Seven''. Afterword by
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...
and drawings by Jules Feiffer. New York: The New Press, 2006. ;Books about the trial: * Dellinger, Dave. ''More Power Than We Know: The people's movement toward democracy''. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books/Doubleday, 1975. * Dellinger, Dave. ''Revolutionary Nonviolence''. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970. * Dellinger, David. ''From Yale to Jail: The life story of a moral dissenter''. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993. * Epstein, Jason. ''Great Conspiracy Trial''. New York: Random House and Vintage Books. 1970. * Hayden, Tom. ''Reunion: A memoir''. New York: Random House, 1988. * Hayden, Tom. ''Trial''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970. * Hoffman, Abbie. ''Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture''. New York: Perigee Books (G.P. Putnam's Sones), 1980. * Hoffman, Abbie and others. ''The Conspiracy''. New York: Dell, 1969. * Kunstler, William M. ''Trials and Tribulations''. New York: Grove Press, 1985. * Lukas, J. Anthony. ''The Barnyard Epithet & Other Obscenities: Notes on the Chicago Conspiracy Trial''. Drawings by Irene Siegel. NYC: Harper & Row, 1970. * Okpaku, Joseph and Verna Sadock. ''Verdict! The Exclusive Picture Story of the Trial of the Chicago 8''. New York: The Third Press – Joseph Okpaku Publishing Co., Inc., 1970. * Rubin, Jerry. ''We Are Everywhere''. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. * Schultz, John. ''Motion Will Be Denied: A New Report on the Chicago Conspiracy Trial''. New York: Morrow, 1972. Revised and published as ''The Chicago Conspiracy Trial''. New introduction by Carl Oglesby and new afterword by the author. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. * Seale, Bobby. ''Seize the Time: The story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton''. New York: Random House and Vintage Books, 1970. * Weiner, Lee. ''Conspiracy to Riot: The Life and Times of One of the Chicago 7''. Cleveland: Belt Publishing, 2020.


External links

* *
An excerpt
from ''The Chicago Conspiracy Trial: Revised Edition'' by John Schultz (writer), John Schultz.
Country Joe McDonald's testimony
{{Authority control Chicago Seven, 1968 Democratic National Convention 1968 in law 20th-century American trials American anti–Vietnam War activists History of Chicago Political repression in the United States Quantified groups of defendants