The Chicago Seven Political Protest Trial

Discusses the trial of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, and Lee Weiner for activities during the Democratic National Convention of 1968.

“One of the few great trial books of our time . . . Any reader looking for a quick course in how a criminal trial can go wrong would do well to read [it].” —Timothy Sullivan, author of Unequal Verdicts In 1969, the Chicago Seven were charged with intent to “incite, organize, promote, and encourage” antiwar riots during the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The defendants included major figures of the antiwar and racial justice movements: Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, the madcap founders of the Yippies; Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis, founders of Students for a Democratic Society and longtime antiwar organizers; David Dellinger, a pacifist and chair of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam; and Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, who would be bound and gagged in the courtroom before his case was severed from the rest. The Conspiracy Trial of the Chicago Seven is an electrifying account of the months-long trial that commanded the attention of a divided nation. John Schultz, on assignment for The Evergreen Review, witnessed the whole trial of the Chicago Seven, from the jury selection to the aftermath of the verdict. In his vivid account, Schultz exposes the raw emotions, surreal testimony, and judicial prejudice that came to define one of the most significant legal events in American history. In October 2020, Aaron Sorkin’s film, The Trial of the Chicago Seven, brought this iconic trial to the screen. “This work, aside from being a profound study of fear, is investigative journalism in its highest sense.” —Studs Terkel, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

THE TRIAL THAT IS NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Reprinted to coincide with the release of the new Aaron Sorkin film, this book provides the political background of this infamous trial, narrating the utter craziness of the courtroom and revealing both the humorous antics and the serious politics involved Opening at the end of 1969—a politically charged year at the beginning of Nixon's presidency and at the height of the anti-war movement—the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which started out as the Chicago Eight) brought together Yippies, antiwar activists, and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges following massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protests which continue to have remarkable contemporary resonance. The defendants—Rennie Davis, Dave Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale (the co-founder of the Black Panther Party who was ultimately removed from the trial, making it seven and not eight who were on trial), and Lee Weiner—openly lampooned the proceedings, blowing kisses to the jury, wearing their own judicial robes, and bringing a Viet Cong flag into the courtroom. Eventually the judge ordered Seale to be bound and gagged for insisting on representing himself. Adding to the theater in the courtroom an array of celebrity witnesses appeared, among them Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins, and Allen Ginsberg (who provoked the prosecution by chanting "Om" on the witness stand). This book combines an abridged transcript of the trial with astute commentary by historian and journalist Jon Wiener, and brings to vivid life an extraordinary event which, like Woodstock, came to epitomize the late 1960s and the cause for free speech and the right to protest—causes that are very much alive a half century later. As Wiener writes, "At the end of the sixties, it seemed that all the conflicts in America were distilled and then acted out in the courtroom of the Chicago Conspiracy trial." An afterword by the late Tom Hayden examines the trial's ongoing relevance, and drawings by Jules Feiffer help recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.

Republished fifty years later to coincide with the release of the Academy Award–nominated film of the same title written and directed by Aaron Sorkin with an all-star cast, this is the classic account of perhaps the most infamous, and definitely the most entertaining, trial in recent American history. In the fall of 1969 eight prominent anti-Vietnam War activists were put on trial for conspiring to riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. One of the eight, Black Panther cofounder Bobby Seale, was literally bound and gagged in court by order of the judge, Julius Hoffman, and his case was separated from that of the others. The activists, who included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Tom Hayden, and their attorneys, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass, insisted that the First Amendment was on trial. Their witnesses were a virtual who’s who of the 1960s counterculture: Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins, Norman Mailer, among them. The defendants constantly interrupted to protest what they felt were unfair rulings by the judge. The trial became a circus, all the while receiving intense media coverage. The convictions that resulted were subsequently overturned on appeal, but the trial remained a political and cultural touchstone, a mirror of the deep divisions in the country. The Trial of the Chicago 7 consists of the highlights from trial testimony with a brief epilogue describing what later happened to the principal figures.

This edition presents the true story of the infamous trial and all those included, together with the actual transcript of the testimonies, closing arguments and the verdict. The trial of political activists accused of inciting riots during the Democratic National Convention of 1968 attracted national attention and exposed the depths of political and cultural divisions at a crucial moment in the nation's history. The trial of the "Chicago Seven" became a defining event in public debates about the Vietnam War, the student protest movement, and the fairness of the federal judicial process. The defendants and their lawyers used the courtroom as a platform for a broad critique of American society and an almost anarchic challenge to the legitimacy of governmental authority. The judge in the case displayed open contempt for the defendants, and his own unorthodox behavior threatened public confidence in the judiciary. The nearly five-month long trial illustrated the contentious and often theatrical nature of public affairs during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Witness Testimonies: Bobby Seale Abbie Hoffman Rennie Davis Jesse Jackson Norman Mailer Richard Daley (Mayor of Chicago) James Riordan (Deputy Chief of Police) Robert Murray (Police) Frank Riggio's Testimony (Detective) Irwin Bock's Testimony (Police) Closing Argument Closing Argument for the Defendants by William Kuntsler Closing Arguments on Behalf of the Government by Thomas Foran Verdict Sentence

Part conspiracy trial, part political theater, the trial of seven activists who disrupted the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, was an iconic event of the 60's. Here, from trial transcripts, are the testimony of Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis, Bobby Seale, and others.

A memoir of a life in activism by one of the original defendants in the Trial of the Chicago 7, subject of the 2020 Oscar-nominated Aaron Sorkin film of the same name. In March 1969, eight young men were indicted by the federal

"Abbie Hoffman, Yippie non-leader, notorious dope addict and up-and-coming rock group (the WHAT), is currently on trial with seven others for conspiracy to incite riot during the Democratic Convention. When he returned from the Woodstock Festival he had five days before leaving for Chicago to prepare for the trial. Woodstock Nation, which the author wrote in longhand while lying upside down, stoned, on the floor of an unused office of the publisher, is the product of those five days. Other works by Mr. Hoffman include Revolution for the Hell of It and Fuck the System, which he describes as a "tender love epic"."-- Back cover.

The founders of the Seattle Liberation Front (SLF) embodied late 1960s counterculture--young, idealistic, activists who were against racism and the Vietnam War, and fond of long hair, rock'n'roll, sex, drugs, and parties. Months after violence erupted during a demonstration, authorities arrested six men and one woman--all SLF members. The Seattle 7 faced federal conspiracy and intent to riot indictments aimed at limiting their ability to organize and protest. The prosecution's key witness faltered and the government's case appeared doomed, but the presiding judge issued a surprise ruling to end the dramatic trial and send the defendants to prison.

Dramatically edited transcripts from the explosive 1969 conspiracy trial are paired with historic contextual writings to provide the essential Chicago Conspiracy handbook