Chicago Seven

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The Chicago Seven (originally Chicago Eight ) were seven (initially eight) American political activists charged with conspiracy , incitement, demonstrations and other charges and brought to justice in 1968. The trial was connected to the anti-Vietnam War protests in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention .

Previous incident

The Democratic Party Congress at the end of August 1968 was the scene of massive demonstrations against the Vietnam War . Several thousand people appeared with signs and banners and in tie-dye T-shirts, made music, danced and recited poetry. The Yippies also brought a pig called "Pigasus the Immortal" to the city to be a candidate for the US presidential election . At first there was a carnival-like atmosphere. However, several protesters responded to the announcement of a night curfew by throwing stones. The police intervened with batons and tear gas . Some protesters were arrested.

process

A grand jury negotiated eight demonstrators and eight police officers. The original eight people charged on March 20, 1969 were: Abbie Hoffman , Jerry Rubin , David Dellinger , Tom Hayden , Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale . Defense lawyers were William M. Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass of the Center for Constitutional Rights ; Julius Hoffman was the judge and the prosecutor was Tom Foran. The trial began on September 24, 1969.

Early in the process, Black Panther Party activist Bobby Seale attacked Richter Hoffman on a massive scale. He described him as a "fascist dog", "pig" and "racist". Judge Hoffman had Bobby Seale handcuffed and gagged in the courtroom, and shortly thereafter excluded him from the trial and sentenced him to four years in prison for disobeying the court.

The Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven . The defendants continued to mock the trial and those involved. Above all, so did the Yippies Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Defendants Hoffman and Rubin once appeared in the courtroom dressed in judicial robes. Hoffman kissed the judge in the air. At the verdict, Hoffman advised the judge to try LSD and offered to introduce him to a dealer in Florida.

The process attracted a lot of public attention and became the focus for an ever-growing number of protestors. It dragged on for months, with many representatives from the American left and counterculture testifying (including singer Arlo Guthrie , author Norman Mailer , LSD advocate Timothy Leary, and clergyman Jesse Jackson ). When the demonstrations spread out of the courtroom on October 9, the National Guard marched .

Ultimately, on February 18, 1970, all seven defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy charges. Froines and Weiner were acquitted. The other five defendants were found guilty of instigating a popular riot. You were sentenced on February 20, 1970 to five years in prison and a fine of $ 5,000.

Annulment of the judgments

The judgments against the Chicago Seven were overturned on November 21, 1972 on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit . The reasons for the waiver included bias on the part of the judge and his refusal to allow defense attorneys to question jury candidates about their cultural orientation. The Justice Department in Washington, DC decided not to reopen the case.

During the trial, all of the defendants and both defense attorneys were sentenced to imprisonment for disobeying the court. But these judgments were also overturned. The charges of contempt were retried before another judge. He found Dellinger, Rubin, Hoffman and Kunstler guilty on a few counts of the indictment, but decided not to sentence the accused to either imprisonment or a fine.

reception

The events of Chicago were processed by the band Chicago in their song Someday , by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in Chicago and in the film Chicago 10 . Jean-Luc Godard processed the experiences in 1971 in "Wladimir und Rosa" ( Vladimir et Rosa ), a film in the tradition of documentary theater .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from January 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Testimony of Abbie Hoffman. English
  2. ↑ (* August 22, 1915; † May 25, 2004) - [1] Article about D. Dellinger by Michael Carlson. English
  3. ↑ [2] Interview with Bobby Seale by Jonathan Fischer. In: Der Spiegel , May 2, 2007
  4. ↑ [3] Brief information about Jerry Rubin. German

literature

  • Tom Hayden, The Chicago Trial , Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt / M. 1971 (edition suhrkamp 477)
  • Bobby Seale: We want freedom. The battle of the Black Panthers . Fischer-Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1972, ISBN 3-436-01312-9 . Online catalog of the DNB

Web links