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On March 20, 1969, the jury returned indictments against eight demonstrators, balanced exactly by indictments against eight police officers. The eight indicted demonstrators included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale.
The prosecution began by stating three charges against the Chicago Eight: (1) they had persuaded people to travel to Chicago for the purpose of joining protest demonstrations; (2) they had influenced their followers to defy law enforcement officials; and (3) they had encouraged a riot.
- Prominent Voices Challenged The Legitimacy of The Anti-Riot Law.
- There Was A Clear Cultural Clash Between The Judge and The Defendants.
- The Judge Ordered Bobby Seale to Be Chained and Gagged in Court.
- Famous Writers and Performers Took The Witness Stand.
Three months before the Chicago Eight trial began, a group of prominent writers and thinkers published a letter to the editors of The New York Review of Booksarguing that the anti-riot law set a dangerous precedent. “The effect of this ‘anti-riot’ act is to subvert the first Amendmentguarantee of free assembly by equating organized political protes...
During the trial, yippies Hoffman and Rubin sometimes used unusual tactics to draw attention to their arguments. In one instance, they showed up to court wearing judicial robes to protest Judge Julius Hoffman’s decision to revoke Dellinger’s bail. When the judge demanded they remove their robes, they took them off and stomped on them. Underneath, t...
Froines argues Hoffman and Rubin’s robe incident “was basically a minor disruption,” and that “the main event in terms of disruption was Bobby Seale being chained and gagged.” Seale had chosen lawyer Charles Garry to represent him in court, and because Garry needed gallbladder surgery, he asked Judge Hoffman to postpone the trial. To Garry’s shock,...
During the trial, the defendants argued that the anti-war demonstrations had been peaceful, and that the violence was instigated by the police. To make this point, the defense called over 100 witnesses, many of whom had been in Chicago during the protests. At the time, a lot of prominent writers and performers were involved with the anti-war moveme...
- Becky Little
- 2 min
Was the Chicago Eight Trial merely, as one commentator suggested, "a monumental non-event"? Was it, as others argue, an important battle for the hearts and minds of the American people? Or is it best seen as a symbol of the conflicts of values that characterized the late sixties?
Nov 16, 2009 · The trial for eight antiwar activists charged with inciting violent demonstrations at the August 1968 Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago before Judge Julius Hoffman.
A federal grand jury indicts the Chicago Eight. April 9, 1969: The Chicago Eight are arraigned. August, 1969: Bobby Seale is arrested in connection with Connecticut charges of murder. September 24, 1969: The trial of the Chicago Eight begins in Chicago before Judge Julius Hoffman. October 29 to November 3, 1969
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Aug 15, 2016 · The contentious, political, and cultural conflict of the sixties was exemplified in the events of the 1968 Democratic Convention, the civil disturbances and the subsequent Chicago 8 Trial. Even before the August convention arrived in Chicago, the American people felt the turbulence of 1968.
