The counterculture movement in the US fragmented along political lines in 1968 due to the Vietnam War. The Democratic party’s national convention in Chicago led to violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement, resulting in the Chicago Seven trial. The trial was a media circus, and the defendants were accused of violating a federal riot law. Two defendants were found not guilty, while the other five were found guilty and received various sentences. The trial was controversial due to Judge Hoffman’s behavior, and the sentences were overturned in 1972. The members of the Chicago Seven resumed their lives in the 1970s, with some returning to academia and others remaining politically active. Abbie Hoffman committed suicide in 1989.
In the volatile year of 1968, the counterculture movement in the United States had fragmented along political lines. Some groups have remained relatively apolitical, while others have pushed hard for radical change by any means necessary. One of the issues that beset all counterculturalists was the continuation and escalation of the Vietnam War.
When the Democratic party announced plans to hold its national convention in Chicago, key leaders from these various factions urged members to hold rallies outside the facility. The results were horrific. Protesters and law enforcement clashed violently, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley ordered National Guard troops to restore order. When the smoke cleared, eight men identified as leaders of the protests were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot. They originally became known as the Chicago Eight, later the Chicago Seven.
During the trial, the eighth co-defendant, Black Panther member BobSeale, was improperly denied counsel by 74-year-old Judge Julius Hoffman. Seale’s heated protests caused Judge Hoffman to order him bound and gagged while he was in court. Hoffman later separated Seale’s case, leaving seven co-defendants: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, John Froines, Rennie Davis and Lee Weiner. While their associations prior to the convention were often vague or non-existent, these men became as inextricably linked in the media as the Chicago Seven.
Of the Chicago Seven, perhaps Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were the two best known faces. Both were members of the International Youth Party, or Yippies. The Yippies were known to suggest extravagant acts of sabotage or civil disobedience, but they rarely carried out these extreme plans. During the Democratic National Convention, the Yippies garnered media attention by nominating a pig named Pigasus for president.
While in Chicago, both Hoffman and Rubin met with other leaders of counterculture groups such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the National Mobilization Committee (MOBE). Other defendants, such as David Dellinger and Rennie Davis, also attended these meetings. Unbeknownst to the attendees, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had already placed undercover agents at many of these meeting places.
The Chicago Seven have been accused of violating a recently enacted federal riot law, which has given law enforcement more legal teeth against protesters. The Chicago Seven trial became a media circus, with some of the defendants arriving in black suits or openly challenging the authority of the court. Judge Hoffman’s questionable pretrial decisions also hampered the efforts of defense attorneys William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass. For example, prospective jurors could not be asked questions relating to their knowledge of popular counterculture entertainers. This exclusion allowed federal prosecutors to seat a jury largely indifferent to the political and social culture of the Chicago Seven.
Despite the theatrics and occasionally heavy-handed tactics used by both sides during the trial, the jury found two of the Chicago Seven, John Froines and Lee Weiner, not guilty of the charges. Weiner and Froines were considered peripheral characters, primarily accused of using their abilities to create non-lethal stink bombs. The other five members of the Chicago Seven were found guilty of violating the 1968 Anti-Riot Act and received various sentences.
Judge Hoffman didn’t stop there. He also sentenced all of the Chicago Seven and their attorneys to several years in prison for a series of court summonses. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned these sentences in 1972, based on Judge Hoffman’s behavior during the trial and the excessive length of the sentences.
Following the Court of Appeals decision to overturn their original sentences, the members of the Chicago Seven resumed their lives in the 1970s. Some returned to academia, while others remained politically active. Tom Hayden eventually became a congressional representative from California. Former radical Jerry Rubin set out to become a mainstream businessman in the 1980s.
David Dellinger, the oldest member of the Chicago Seven, continued to participate in civil rallies until his death of a heart attack. Abbie Hoffman, arguably the most passionate member of the Chicago Seven, has sought to reinvigorate the counterculture movement through media events and several books. Disappointed by the apparent apathy of American society in the 1980s, Abbie Hoffman committed suicide in 1989.
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