Conspiracy in the streets

Michael Moore mocks George Bush, and Al Franken ridicules Rush Limbaugh, but the mixing of play and politics today is polite and respectful compared to the carnival of contempt known as the Chicago Eight trial. Opening at the end of 1960, the trial bought Yippies, anti-war activists and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges arising from the massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The defendants openly lampooned the proceedings, with Abbie Hoffman blowing kisses to the jury and the defence bringing a Viet Cong flat into the courtroom. The judge ordered Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers bound and gagged for insisting on representing himself. And an array of celebrity witnesses appeared, including Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, Arlo Guthrie, and Allen Ginsberg, who provoked the prosecution by chanting “Om” on the witness stand. This book contains an abridged transcript of the trial with astute commentary from historian Jon Wiener. A foreword by defendant Tom Hayden examines its relevance for protest today, and drawings by legendary cartoonist Jules Feiffer help recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.