Voila! Finally, the Chicago 10 script is here for all you fans of the Abbie Hoffman movie. This puppy is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of the movie to get the dialogue. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and all that jazz, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. At least you'll have some Chicago 10 quotes (or even a monologue or two) to annoy your coworkers with in the meantime, right?
And swing on back to Drew's
Script-O-Rama afterwards -- because reading is good for your noodle. Better than Farmville, anyway.
Chicago 10 Script
I have today ordered to Vietnam
the air mobile division
and certain other forces,
which will raise our fighting strength,
from 75,000 to 125,000 men,
almost immediately.
Additional forces will be needed later,
and they will be sent as requested.
This will make it necessary
to increase our active fighting forces
by raising the monthly draft call
from 17,000, over a period of time,
to 35,000 per month.
This is a rather important conception,
both what's apt to happen in Chicago,
and also what kind of a movement
we're trying to build.
We're trying to contribute to a set-up,
in which the energies
of the anti-war movement
can be unleashed or liberated.
We're working for some kind of
combination of planning and flexibility,
which will on the one hand
just avoid complete chaos.
We have to establish a network
for discussion and preparation
that takes into account the possibility
that you might want
at the time of the Convention
a very great outpouring of protest,
or the other possibility
that you might want
protests to occur
on a more moderate scale
at the Convention
and in other parts of the country.
We believe that politics is the way
you live your life, not who you support.
It's not in terms of rallies
or speeches or political programs.
It's in terms of images
and in terms of
transforming people's lives.
We are coming to Chicago,
at the time of
the Democratic National Convention,
not to disrupt the Convention,
not to confront the police,
National Guard troops,
or the men in the United States Army.
But to challenge
the policies of militarization that
have been felt so strongly
and brutally in Vietnam.
We're going to invest our time,
our semen,
our love vectors, our intellect,
in America,
and we're not going to allow
our country to become
one of the fabled, damned nations
to join the Mayan ruins
and all the other violent civilizations
that have been snuffed.
...just on the edge of the park.
ABC's Don Farmer is there.
Here come the cops. They're pushing
this crowd back now.
A big police van has now pulled into
the intersection.
Now here come the police.
Step up here.
Here they come.
This is a real police charge.
We're gonna get it. We're gonna get it.
Now the police are clubbing
this young man.
Clubbing him. Now I see them club
at least three young people.
Now they're moving into the crowd
and beating them with their nightsticks.
There are a lot of young people
on the ground now.
There's another one that hit the ground
and he's screaming.
They're really letting him have it now.
This is real violent. This is the worst
it's been so far here in Chicago.
Police running across here.
There's another one that hit the ground
and he's screaming.
They're really letting him have it now.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
the government will prove in this case,
the plan of the eight defendants,
who encouraged people
to come to Chicago
during the Democratic Convention
from August the 26th
through August the 29th, 1968.
Their plan was to bring people
into Chicago to protest,
and then create a situation
where these people would riot.
In doing so,
the defendants crossed state lines
with the intent to start this riot.
Intent to incite, is that the key line?
Intent to incite.
Did you intend to incite?
And it's not concerned...
It's a state of mind trial. I mean,
we're being tried for our thoughts.
We're charged with carrying
certain ideas across state lines.
Not with carrying machine guns,
or carrying little girls,
or little boys, or any other kind of shit.
We're charged with having
a certain state of mind
when we go from New York,
into Pennsylvania,
into lndiana, and then finally into lllinois.
We hope to prove that the prosecution
is the result of two motives
on the part of the government.
-Objection.
-I sustain the objection.
You may speak to the guilt
or innocence of your clients,
not to the motive of the government.
Your Honor, I have always thought...
Regardless of what
you always thought, Mr. Kunstler,
I sustain the objection.
We hope to show that what actually
happened in the streets of Chicago
was not a riot caused by demonstrators,
but a riot engineered
by the police of this city.
No one here is accused
of actually committing a violent act.
So, in getting the seven of us,
they're very smart,
'cause they're getting
seven of the people who,
for the longest time, stubbornly
kept talking about going to Chicago.
We will prove that the defendants,
David Dellinger,
Rennie Davis, and Thomas Hayden...
Who is the one that shook his fist
in the direction of the jury?
That is Mr. Hayden.
That is my customary greeting,
Your Honor.
We do not allow shaking of fists
in this courtroom, sir.
The defendants,
Dellinger, Davis and Hayden,
were the leaders of a group
called the Mobilization.
Their goal was to use
the unpopularity of the war in Vietnam
to lure young people to Chicago.
This August, I'm going to
the Democratic National Convention
in Chicago.
I want the world to know
that there are thousands
of young people in this country
who do not want to see
a rigged convention
rubber-stamp another four years
of Lyndon Johnson's war.
Join us.
In addition to the Mobilization,
there was another group
that tried to lure people to Chicago.
That group was led by Abbie Hoffman.
The jury is directed to disregard the kiss
thrown by the defendant, Hoffman.
And another leader of this group
was Jerry Rubin.
They called themselves the Yippies.
We feel that it was not only our right,
but our duty to go to Chicago
and do what we did.
I will openly confess
to everything that I did,
and even to what they say I didn't do.
It's a thrill because
it's the Academy Award of protests.
And I want to congratulate
all the thousands of people
who came to Chicago
and competed for the honor.
I don't know why they selected
the eight of us,
but we're very nervous and excited,
and hope that we're equal to the task.
Two more of these individuals are
Lee Weener...
Weiner.
Lee Weener, and John Froines, joined
with Davis, Dellinger and Hayden.
The last person who joined
is a man named Bobby Seale.
We will prove that these defendants
made unreasonable demands
upon the city of Chicago
for certain permits.
Non-negotiable demands.
We hope to show that the nightstick
became the symbol
of what demonstrators could expect
who were demonstrating
against the continuance of this bloody
and unjustified war in Vietnam.
We will demonstrate that free speech
died here in the streets
under those clubs, and that
the bodies of these demonstrators
were the sacrifices to its death.
So you think you're going
to get a fair trial?
-If things work out right.
-Yeah.
Yeah, we'll get the usual fair trial,
Chicago-style.
They're building gallows
on the third floor, you know.
They got this little door going...
Testing guys, testing these bags,
and pulling ropes and shit.
I don't know, some people say that
that's a pretty pessimistic sign.
All rise.
The United States District Court
for the Northern District of lllinois
now is in session.
The Honorable Judge
Julius J. Hoffman presiding.
You should have seen that jury,
that was some audience to play to,
I'll tell you.
It was out of the back pages
of the Ladies' Home Journal.
It was weird.
Will you please identify yourself
for the record?
Of course I will, Len. My name is Abbie.
I'm an orphan of America.
Your Honor, may the record show
it is the defendant Hoffman
who has taken the stand?
Well, it is rather important in this case.
There's a Hoffman up here
and one down there.
I certainly wouldn't want the jury
to get confused.
We will concede, Your Honor.
-When were you born?
-Psychologically, 1960.
-Objection.
-Objection sustained.
What? My background has
nothing to do with my state of mind?
Will you remain quiet
while I'm making a ruling?
Mr. Feinglass.
-Weinglass.
Weinglass, yes.
Will you please continue
the examination of the witness?
Now directing your attention
to September, 1967.
What were you doing?
-What was I doing?
Well, I was doing a number of things.
Among them was a meeting I had
with the defendant Jerry Rubin.
Jerry said that the problem
with the peace movement
is that it's based solely
on the war in Vietnam.
See, we feel that the war
is not just an accident,
it's a by-product of a capitalist system
that we have in this country.
He felt that we had to put forth
new kinds of values
to create a society in which a Vietnam
War wouldn't even be possible.
We've got to let Johnson
and the Democrats know
that we don't support their fucking war.
We should go to Chicago
and greet the convention of death
with a demonstration
of an alternative culture
with alternative values.
Right, while they're having politicians
at the Convention Center,
we'll have rock bands
playing in the park.
It'll be a coming-together
of pot and politics.
We'll radicalize every hippie
in the country, man.
The actions we've already taken,
they've been exciting, alive,
the best kind of guerilla theater.
We have to create
that same spirit in Chicago.
Daley and Johnson will never
let it happen, man.
They're going to fucking lose it.
That's the point! Don't you get it?
We'll terrify the war machine
and force LBJ to be nominated
under armed guard!
Yeah, but we need to have a name,
you know, signifying
the radicalization of hippies.
Right? Okay. Now, what rhymes
with hippie? Hippie. Bippie...
Abbie? I think Paul just went
into our bedroom.
I think he may be having
one of those brainstorms.
Hippie, bippie, vippie, yippie, yippie.
Holy shit, that's it!
-Who do you want to give the letter to?
-To the mayor.
We want to give it to the mayor.
And if the mayor won't receive it,
we want the person
closest to him to receive it.
-The mayor is busy.
Okay, well, who would be
the next in line to receive it?
This is not a petition, this is a formal
application for the use of Grant Park.
No, you want this for the mayor
to receive, don't you?
You said he's in a council meeting
which is open to the public.
-That's right.
But you can't give it to him
during a council meeting.
-No, we won't.
-This is his office right here.
-We won't give it to him.
-I know you won't give it to him.
They won't even let you in there.
Who's the spokesman here?
-We all are.
-We all are.
Okay. Give it any place you want.
-Yippie!
-Yippie!
Yippy-skippy.
We began negotiations
with the city of Chicago,
back on March 25, 1968,
with a meeting with
the Parks Department,
and Deputy Mayor Stahl.
Your application is
still under consideration,
but the mayor doesn't have
the power to grant permits.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Daley's the boss of Chicago!
He makes all the decisions
around here.
Excuse me. Excuse me, sir.
But for many months we've been
planning a Festival of Life
with the basis of free music.
What else do you plan to do
besides demonstrate your music?
Well, a dawn ass-washing ceremony,
with tens of thousands participating,
will occur each morning at 5:00 a.m.,
as Yippie revelers and protesters
prepare for the 7:00 a.m.
volleyball tournament.
There will be public fornication,
whenever and wherever
there is an aroused appendage
and a willing aperture.
-Here, here!
-Look, Dave, Dave, Dave,
there's half a million Yippies
coming to our festival,
and they're gonna need
a place to sleep, you got it?
It has to be in the park, man.
The hotels are all gonna be
filled up with fucking delegates.
I wasn't aware that
your application says anything
about sleeping in the park.
That is simply not permitted.
Where would you sleep anyway?
Some of us will live in tents,
others will live frivolously.
You know what?
I got a great idea, Dave.
Why don't you just give me 100 grand
and we'll call the whole thing off?
What do you say?
Now, you testified on
the August 7th meeting
with Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman,
that there was some mention
of $100,000.
Is that not correct?
That is correct.
Did you take that discussion seriously,
Mr. Stahl?
Yes, I most certainly did.
Was that a betrayal of your friends
to take a ransom?
-A what?
-A $100,000 ransom.
I don't understand.
A ransom? You mean to rip off
this city for 100 grand?
-Yeah.
-It's a groovy thing to do.
What, are you kidding?
What are they gonna do with it anyway?
-Would you have done it?
-What?
Would you have taken $100,to call everything off?
I would have taken $100,000.
As to calling it off,
well...
How much is it worth to you
to call it off?
-Call off what?
A million?
Would you have done it for a million?
-The revolution?
-Yeah.
What's your price?
-My life.
At 7:10 this evening, Martin Luther King
was shot in Tennessee.
Martin Luther King,
20 minutes ago, died.
I issued a police order to shoot
to kill any arsonists
or anyone with a Molotov cocktail
in their hand in Chicago.
And to issue a police order,
to shoot to maim,
or cripple anyone looting.
I remember seeing him, April 4, 1968.
Martin Luther King had
been assassinated.
Riots all over the country,
and LBJ came on, and he shed a tear,
they got tricky make-up men to do
that stuff, and he said,
"My fellow Americans,
in the memory of his name,
"we must be nonviolent."
And I put down a joint and said,
"Holy shit, LBJ's a pacifist.
I didn't know that."
Towards the end of next month,
the scene below,
in front of Chicago's Amphitheater
will be one of surging crowds
and hectic activity.
The Democratic National Convention
will be under way.
But in addition to the delegates,
and their guests, others,
perhaps numbering in the hundreds
of thousands, will be on hand also.
And this may create some problems.
Two major dissident groups are
planning to have their voices heard here
Convention Week.
The more militant of the two is
the National Mobilization Committee
to End the War in Vietnam.
Its Chicago office is making plans
to have upwards of 50,000 people here
during the Convention.
We want to underscore again
that we're coming to Chicago
by the tens of thousands, whether
or not there are any permits given.
We are here to make a visible,
militant, but peaceful presence.
A political confrontation,
but not a physical confrontation,
in terms of Chicago.
We expect this to be a peaceful,
nonviolent demonstration,
and whether or not it will be peaceful,
it really is in the hands, at this time,
of the mayor of this city.
Why did you want the Convention
to come here so badly?
Because we have a great city.
Will it be a good convention, Mr. Mayor?
The best ever held.
I am commanding general of
the Emergency Operation Headquarters
of the lllinois Army National Guard.
The Emergency Operation
Headquarters was established
for the purpose of controlling operations
in the event of civil disturbances.
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
Well, I think that it's quite clear
that the city and the Democratic Party
is preparing for a police state
and martial law
during the week of
the Democratic National Convention.
Mr. Hoffman, why are the Yippies here?
-Abbie.
-Abbie, why are the Yippies here?
Since we're not a carefully
structured organization,
you'd have to ask each person.
Everybody is allowed to do their thing.
If some people storm the Amphitheater,
they storm the Amphitheater.
Other people wanna smoke dope,
other people wanna go and tell
the cops what we're doing, that's good.
If the cops wanna come down
and beat our heads, that's it.
I mean,
it's all conceived as a total theater
with everyone becoming an actor.
These people are revolutionaries bent
on the destruction of the government
of the United States of America.
They're a pitiful handful.
They have almost no support.
But by golly, they get the cooperation
of the news media.
They're built into something really big.
They're referred to as kids,
they're referred to as Yippies.
Gentlemen, the hardcore leadership
of this group are Communists.
We're training people in the use
of highly mobile defensive tactics
that might be required
in the eventuality of police violence.
There are some young people
in the city practicing snake dancing
and other techniques
to stay up against the police.
Does this disturb you in any way?
No, snake dances never disturb me.
Did you have a conversation with
Jerry Rubin in November of 1967?
Yes. Mr. Rubin said
that he was, at present,
working full-time on plans
to have a youth festival in Chicago
when the Democratic Convention
would take place.
I was overtaken with the audacity
of the idea and I said,
"It's a beautiful and frightening idea."
And Rubin said, "l think that the beauty
of it is that the establishment
"is going to do it all themselves.
We won't do a thing.
"They will smash the city themselves,
they will provoke all the violence."
And I said, "l think you're right.
"But I have to admit to you that
I'm scared at the thought of it."
If people stay in the park
and play the role of the good niggers,
they'll be okay, they'll be treated
with respect by the police.
But those Yippies that march
on the Amphitheater or go downtown,
they'll be risking their lives. That's right.
These cops here are tough.
They'd kill you with a smile.
We are not going out to fight the cops.
I mean, we basically hope
that this is going to be
a nonviolent situation in this park.
However, if the violence comes,
we will soak it up.
There's a struggle going on
in the world today,
and it's a struggle about what
the future of this country's about.
And young people are not going to stay
neutral, they are going to be involved.
In the face of repression,
you either sit at home in fear,
or you accommodate by closing
your eyes, or you fight.
And in this country,
people are going to fight repression
by any means they choose to fight.
They're not going to take over Chicago,
and they're not going to
take over any convention,
and they're not going to
take over any streets.
And that goes for all of them.
And I don't care how many of them
come here or where they come from.
"Many of us may fight and die here.
"We recognize this as the vision
of the founders of this nation.
"We recognize that we are America.
We recognize that we are free men."
Political pigs, your days are numbered.
We are the second
American Revolution.
We are winning. Yippie.
A Democratic Convention is
about to begin in a police state.
There just doesn't seem to be
any other way to say it.
And now, here's Yippie!
Now what happened to Bobby Seale is...
You know when we were all indicted,
Bobby Seale was
the eighth person indicted,
which was really weird because Bobby
was only in Chicago a couple of hours.
But the government believes
in integration, equality,
and so, if it indicts seven,
it's got to add on a black person.
And what could be better
than the national chairman
of the Black Panther Party? Beautiful.
You've got eight, perfect.
Bobby Seale was
in Stockholm, Sweden,
when he heard he was indicted.
He couldn't even remember
what it was all about.
There is a motion here
of defendant Bobby Seale
to be permitted to defend himself.
I will hear you, Mr. Seale.
Thank you, Your Honor.
I want to present this motion
on behalf of myself.
I'm not a lawyer, but I do know
that l, as one of the defendants,
have a right to defend myself.
Your Honor, the other defendants
would like to join in this motion.
I would like to call
Your Honor's attention to
Adams v. The United States,
where the Supreme Court said,
"The Constitution does not force
a lawyer on a defendant."
Mr. Seale has said that
he does not desire to have me,
or any of the other attorneys,
represent him in any way.
Motion will be denied.
I should be allowed to defend myself.
I will ask you to sit down.
I should be allowed to speak
so I can defend myself.
-Be quiet!
-Don't tell me to shut up.
I got a right to speak.
I need to speak in order
to defend myself.
Mr. Seale,
I admonish you that any outburst
such as you have just indulged in
will be appropriately dealt with
at the right time during this trial.
I want to argue the point about this so
you can get an understanding of the fact
that I have a right to defend myself!
Mr. Marshal, will you go to that man
and ask him to be quiet?
-I want my constitutional rights.
I want to have my constitutional right.
How come you won't recognize that?
Sit down and be quiet!
-Hey, man. Come on!
-Stop it! Come on!
Now, go ahead, continue.
I'll watch and get railroaded.
The Democratic National Convention
opens in Chicago tonight
as the political scenery is being shifted
into place for the four-day stand.
Why did you decide
to come to Chicago?
Mostly because I felt
that my presence in Chicago,
even of one individual, might bring
home to the delegates there
just how wide and how extensive
the problem is in America today.
I'm here for two reasons.
One, we're going to demonstrate
against the war.
Number two is just
what it's called, the Festival of Life.
I'm sure it's going to get much more
difficult as the war goes on,
but we just gotta keep on protesting
until the war is ended,
until this obscenity is finished.
We need somebody to follow
the orange curtain
all the way down to the cafeteria.
It is now my honor to present to you
the mayor of our host city,
Richard J. Daley.
Thank you, thank you very much,
thank you.
Honored guests, fellow Democrats.
The people of Chicago and its mayor
are proud to welcome
a great political gathering of Americans
who come here to shape
the future of a nation,
to choose a man to become
our president.
-My fellow Americans.
-That's us!
Yeah!
Have another great
Democratic National Convention.
Democrats understand the imperative
need for respect of the law.
Every citizen knows that society
can become a jungle.
All right, now I'm going to ask
your opinion
on the famous issues
facing our country today.
But it is high time for the political
leadership of this generation
to reject the language
of conflict and despair!
Right now...
Right now it's time to kick
out the jams, motherfucker!
Rock, rock, rock!
The issue of law and order?
-Shoot to kill! Shoot to kill!
-Shoot to kill! Shoot to kill!
And as long as I'm mayor of this town,
there will be law and order in Chicago!
The aggressive war in Vietnam?
-Negotiate with bombs!
-Negotiate with bombs!
The issue of rebellious youth?
-Kill them!
-Kill them!
-Crush those motherfuckers!
-Crush those motherfuckers!
-Crush them!
-Crush them!
At today's event,
protestors clashed with police,
and the first blood of the confrontation
in Chicago was drawn.
Ten miles away, Convention Hall.
"You came here to disrupt
the Convention."
They had 10 miles of barbed wire fence.
They had 25,000 troops
counting the cops and National Guard.
They had tanks, armored tanks,
in the streets of Chicago,
National Guard with bayonets.
They had helicopters
with machine guns.
"We came to disrupt the Convention."
Out of sight.
We couldn't find our way
out of the park!
This is Lincoln Park in
the city's swank Near North side.
Hippies, Yippies, and just plain kids
have wanted to sleep in this park
during the Convention,
but the city has repeatedly said no,
and police have enforced that order.
...for remaining in the park between
11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.
11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.
Please obey the law.
-We're going to stay in the park!
-Hello?
-Mr. Bob Fass?
-Yeah.
-I have a collect call for you.
-Collect call! Yeah?
-A collect call from Mr. Abbie Hoffman,
will you accept the charge?
Yes, we'll accept the charge,
but would you like to say hello
to anybody in New York, operator?
-No, sir, thank you.
-Thank you.
-Hey.
-Hey, Abbie.
-Robert.
-Hi.
-Yeah, it's a chilly night here.
-Yeah?
Yeah, how are you doing, man?
Okay. How was it in court today?
Oh, it's unbelievable.
I mean, our trial is a jewel.
The judge, he's 74 years old.
He was alive at
the first and second Balkan Wars.
I think he just missed going
on the Titanic.
Yeah, I think he's even
beyond the generation gap.
Are you sure you're not related to him?
-No, no.
-You're sure? The name...
I brought him a present though.
I heard he had tired blood and
I bought him a year's supply of Geritol.
Do you really think he'd take a thing
like that kindly, Abbie?
Giving him Geritol?
Well, he has a bit of a sense of humor.
He might think of it as an attempt
to bribe him.
-No.
-I think you probably are relatives
in some distant way, Abbie.
In some distant way, yeah. In the great
conspiracy, we're all sort of relatives.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
the testimony the witness is
about to give
is offered by the government only
with respect to the defendant Derringer.
I think Your Honor means Dellinger.
Dellinger, that's right.
Mr. Dillinger said that,
"We must issue a..."
I mispronounced the defendant's name.
You said, "Dillinger".
It's "Derringer". We're both wrong.
You mean Mr. Derringer, do you not?
Your Honor, it's Dellinger.
Let's move on, shall we?
Now, Mr. Pierson, taking you back
to Monday, August the 26th.
Did you have occasion to be
in Lincoln Park that day?
Yes, sir, I did.
I was introduced to Jerry Rubin
by someone I had befriended.
He said, "Jerry, this is Bob Levin.
He will be your personal bodyguard.
"He can be trusted,
and he handles himself well."
Rubin shook my hand and said that
he was glad to have me with him.
And what occurred after
this introduction, please?
There was a commotion to the south
of where Rubin and I were sitting.
We saw two men being placed
in a police squadron.
Rubin asked one of the people
standing there what had happened,
and they told him that Tom Hayden
had been arrested.
He told Rubin that a march
was being formed to go down
to police headquarters to free Hayden.
What did you do then?
Rubin and I joined the march.
The march was called to protest
the arrest of Tom Hayden
who was accused of disorderly conduct
for letting the air out
of the tires of a police car.
There were rumblings of the trouble
to come all afternoon.
-Free Hayden! Free Hayden!
-Free Hayden! Free Hayden!
-Free Hayden! Free Hayden!
-Free Hayden! Free Hayden!
-Free Hayden!
-Free Hayden!
What do we want?
-Revolution!
-When?
-Now!
-Now!
What do we want?
-Revolution!
-Revolution!
Now, when you arrived
at the police headquarters,
did you see any policemen in the area?
did you see any policemen in the area?
Yes, there were uniformed officers
in front of the building.
Rubin said, "There are too many
pigs here, let's go to the Hilton."
We went east on 11th
to Michigan Avenue
and then north on Michigan Avenue.
When the march was midpoint
past the Logan Statue,
the crowd broke and ran up
to the statue screaming, "Take the hill".
You are in an assembly
which you have no permit for.
If you do not leave,
you will be subject to arrest.
Move it back!
Move it back!
Let them have their statue,
Iet the pigs have their fucking statue!
Forty thousand troops,
their tanks, their mace, their artillery.
Chicago has become
a concentration camp
and it is clear for everybody to see.
Mr. Pierson, what, if anything, happened
after the incident at the Logan Statue?
Rubin and I saw some people tacking
newspaper articles on some trees.
The first article showed a picture
of a policeman with a club.
Rubin looked at me and said,
"Look at that fat pig. We should isolate
one or two of those pigs and kill them."
-And what did you say?
-I agreed with him.
Then Rubin looked at me and said,
"We've got to do more
to keep the crowd active.
"We want them in the park
for the Bobby Seale speech tonight."
I object on the grounds
that my lawyer is not here.
You know my lawyer is not here,
Your Honor.
I want my lawyer here
when he mentions my name
and testifies against me.
Ask him...
Ask him to sit down, Mr. Marshal.
Sit down, Mr. Seale.
And what, if anything, occurred
after this conversation?
Two people walked up to us.
One of them had a plastic bag.
The man with the plastic bag
said to Rubin,
"We're going to fill this bag
with human shit
"and we're going to throw it
at the pigs tonight."
Rubin laughed and said, "Good,
it will make good food for the pigs."
I'm going to go into the whole thing.
-Go ahead.
-Do it.
I got a lot of different emotions
when I hear this guy Pierson.
One is I feel like vomiting
'cause it's so nauseating.
The second is I feel like laughing
'cause it's so funny.
I mean, it's really hilarious.
The guy's on a real fantasy trip.
The third, I feel like crying
because it's so dangerous.
Because this is the man
that they're trying to use
to put all of us in
the federal penitentiary for 10 years.
Back in the courtroom,
defense attorneys told the judge,
"We have certain information about
the mental capacity of this witness."
Pierson was then asked,
"At any time have you ever been
under treatment by a physician
"for your mental capacity?"
CBS News, Chicago.
When you went to Lincoln Park
on the 26th of August,
did you know that Abbie Hoffman
was going to be there?
No, sir, I didn't.
Had you ever seen him
before that time?
No, I hadn't.
Can you describe what he looked like
when you first saw him?
Not really, other than the wild hair,
and the nose, which impressed me.
-In which way did it impress you?
-Its size.
Mr. Rubin turned to his group
and began to shout in a loud voice.
He used some profanity.
-What did he say?
"The pigs are in our park.
They're MF-ers and shitheads."
Were there any obscenities
in his speech?
Every other word was an obscenity,
especially the four-letter word.
You say, "Blank pigs".
Did he say, "Blank pigs"?
-No, sir.
Did he use another word
other than "blank"?
-Yes, sir.
-Was it a four-letter word?
Yes, sir.
What was the first letter
of that four-letter word, please?
-F.
-No laughing in the courtroom!
At this point, Mr. Hayden said...
This is becoming rather obscene.
-Go ahead.
-Mr. Hayden said,
"Fuck them all. They're all pigs.
We should have an army and get guns."
While you were assigned
to follow Mr. Rubin,
did you ever see him throw
any object at another human being?
-Yes, Tuesday night.
-Tuesday night he threw an object?
Yes. He threw a sweater.
-At who?
-At me.
I take it you were uninjured
by the sweater.
Did you ever see any person in
the Mobilization wearing a gun?
I saw bulges under their coats.
You saw bulges? Did you say to yourself
at the time, "Those are guns"?
I said to myself, "Those are bulges".
Extremely accurate.
Abbie Hoffman is here
from Chicago on the telephone.
Only, he's not really here,
he's in Chicago. Hey, Abbie.
-Robert!
-Hi.
I heard my first dirty four-letter word
today in court.
-You did?
-It was MF-er.
-Is that heavy?
-Well, it's...
They kept, like, saying it.
"What was this dirty word?"
And he would say, "MF-er".
Oh, it's unbelievable.
I mean, our trial is a jewel.
-Yeah.
After every witness we'd hear
we'd say, "We're in the wrong court."
Like today there was
this big bull dyke of a policewoman.
I'm probably gonna get
sued for that one.
-Is it Miss or Mrs.?
-Miss.
Do you know a person
named Abbie Hoffman?
Yes, sir.
And do you see that person
in the courtroom at this time?
Yes, sir. He's hiding behind
the gentleman in the maroon shirt.
He... Right behind you.
Calling your attention
to Monday, August 26th.
Did you see Abbot Hoffman
in Lincoln Park?
I did. There was a group of
people gathered around Mr. Hoffman.
I heard him say it,
"On Wednesday,
we're gonna meet in Grant Park,
"and we're gonna storm the Hilton."
And then he said,
"We're gonna need a lot of weapons,
so we should bring rocks, bottles,"
and another good weapon,
he said, was a brick.
And then someone asked
about holding the park that night.
And he said, "Yeah. We should hold
the park tonight at all costs.
"It's our park, and the... And the fucking
pigs have no right to push us out."
The city ordinance prohibits persons
from remaining in the park
from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
Please obey the law.
The city ordinance prohibits
persons from...
Look, we're not here
to fight anyone, all right.
If the cops want the park, let them
have the park. Who gives a shit?
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
Please obey the law.
Get the fucking pigs!
Get the car!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
-Hell, no, we won't go!
Is anybody hurt? Is anybody hurt?
Mike?
Now, from your own observations
at the Democratic National Convention
on these nights,
did you see any policemen
beat any demonstrators?
No, sir.
Did you see any policemen
do anything wrong?
No.
Up against the wall, motherfucker!
He hit you there with a club
and over the eye?
-He hit me all over the place.
And there were two of them that hit me,
but only one that I can recognize.
Do you want me to try
and stop the bleeding?
Wanna let me try to stop your bleeding?
-Is it bleeding badly?
-Yeah.
And I asked the bartender
for another drink,
and all of a sudden these guys
with blue helmets come in,
pushing people out of the way,
and telling everybody, "Get out!"
So I turn around and look
at this guy in a blue helmet,
this pig, and he says to me, "Get out!"
I said, "Why?
This is only my second drink."
He said,
"You had enough drinks, get out!"
And I'm real mad because I'm not part
of this Yippie gang or anything like that.
I'm just an ordinary citizen
in this Oxford pub
having a Black Label and soda.
So I just laid my drink down and got out
before that guy put the stick to me.
How come you weren't
drinking White Horse?
That's all I got to say.
I was scared, just plain scared.
As you come around the corner
of the back porch
into the yard behind
5012 South Dorchester,
you may see a group
of 10 to 12-year-old boys
playing what looks like any one
of the games that city kids play.
But this game is new.
The kids call it,
"Cops and Demonstrators".
Michael, would you rather be a cop
or a demonstrator
when you play this game?
A demonstrator.
I like to be a cop
better than a demonstrator
because the demonstrators,
when you hit the person,
you know, it kind of hurts sometimes.
Cops and Demonstrators
is a relatively new game.
But the different thing about it,
according to the boys,
is that in this one no one ever wins.
-All the way with LBJ!
-All the way with LBJ!
-All the way with LBJ!
-All the way with LBJ!
One man followed these people all
the way around.
Why couldn't we give it to them?
March or leave.
We wish to announce now
our firm determination
to organize a rally
the afternoon of August
and from there to march
to the lnternational Amphitheater
where we will be heard
on the fundamental issues
of the war in Vietnam
and racism in the United States.
This is David Dellinger,
who is a national chairman
of the National Mobilization Committee
to End the War in Vietnam.
What's the purpose of your arrival here
and wait at the mayor's office?
Well, obviously there's an emergency
created by the city's refusal
to give us
any meaningful place to protest.
The city invited
the Democratic Convention to come in,
in fact paid a lot of money
to have it come in.
In these days, with Americans
and Vietnamese being killed daily
in Vietnam,
you can't hold a political convention
without expecting some form of protest
to accompany it.
I would like to say here and now
that this administration will never permit
a lawless, violent group of terrorists
to menace the lives
of millions of people,
destroy the purpose
of this National Convention
and take over the streets of Chicago.
Ms. Willis, what is your reaction
to the news we get from downtown
of all the violence
that's going on down there?
Well, the way I understand it
is the white people are always hollering
about how the colored people act
and everything,
but, you know,
now things that it's turned around
to show you who it really is.
Are you happier
that it's downtown and not up here?
Yeah, I'm very glad.
Well, do you feel any sympathy
for the white people
who are being beaten up
and tear-gassed downtown?
Well, no.
At this point,
are you still planning to go ahead
with your march to the Amphitheater?
Yes, we are.
And we think also that, you know,
there is that old song about
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
And I think that
if people simply fold up their tents
and go away when they're threatened
with arrest or brutality,
then we will have a police state.
What to do about the march?
I don't know.
This was originally to be a festival
of life, not a confrontation.
My own feeling is
I don't want to get my head busted in
and I don't want anybody
who came knowing
that I was coming here
to have their head busted in.
So I'm not going to march formally
as a Yippie.
I'm going on the Mobilization march
as an individual
but not as a leader of Yippies.
And I don't know if I'll march from here
if it looks like a bloodbath scene.
I mean, man, 25,000 troops.
Are you kidding me? It's ridiculous.
I don't know
about the rest of the people here,
but I'm gonna be in that march
and I'm gonna march from here,
and I'll march all the way down there.
What do you think about the trial?
-I don't know anything about the trial.
-Oh, yeah, where you going?
-And listen...
-What's your name?
My name is Frankie. How are you?
Some of my friends are on trial in there.
What do you think about it?
They are going to prison for 10 years.
-I don't know.
For having a state of mind
and looking silly.
-Are they?
Well, you ought to get sensible.
-Who?
-Like the... All of you guys.
-Why?
-Dress like the rest of them.
-Why?
Because you'd look better.
You look too messy.
Oh, so you think people should go
to prison 'cause they look messy?
-No.
-Why not?
-You should cut your hair.
-Why?
-Because...
-What? It ain't cute?
You want to touch it?
-No.
Oh, come on, look.
I cut it every morning.
It grows like this. By midnight,
it'll be down to my ankles.
-Listen, I got to go.
So what do you think
about the trial, man?
Well, I have... I have a good seat,
and it's unbelievable theater.
Great show.
The outcome don't look good,
but the beginning
and the middle is looking great.
I view it as a clash
between life and death.
Between what the French call
la vitale, the vital force.
And I think that...
Well, as I conceptualize it and frame it,
I try to have all the symbolism
on our side
reflect the symbolism of life
that's reflected in the revolution
of which we are symbols ourselves.
I teach and I write poetry
and I lecture at universities.
And did you have any occasion
to meet with Abbie Hoffman?
I did.
Do you recall what Mr. Hoffman said
in the course of conversation?
He said that politics had become
theater and magic, basically,
that it was the manipulation of imagery
through the mass media
that was confusing and hypnotizing
the people in the United States.
Making them accept a war
which they really didn't believe in.
After he spoke to you,
what, if anything, was your response
to his suggestion?
Oh, I was worried whether
the whole scene would become violent.
I was worried whether the government
would let us do something
that was funnier, or prettier or...
-Objection.
I...
-I sustain the objection.
-I sustain the objection.
That was our conversation, sir.
Mr. Ginsberg, you were named
as kind of a Yippie religious leader,
were you not?
No, not really,
because the word "leader"
was one we really tried
to get away from.
It was more like a...
-A religious Yippie teacher?
-...religious experimenter.
-Oh, experimenter.
Now, concerning a number of books
of poetry that you have written.
In the Empty Mirror, there is a poem
called "The Night Apple".
Do you believe
you could recite that for the jury?
"The Night Apple.
"Last night I dreamed of one I loved
"For seven long years
"But I saw no face
"Only the familiar presence of the body
"Sweat, skin, eyes
"Feces, urine, sperm, saliva
"All one odor and mortal taste"
Could you explain to the jury
what the religious significance
of this poem meant?
If you would take a wet dream
as a religious experience, I could.
It's a description of a wet dream.
Right. Your Honor,
I have to get some materials
to properly carry on
my cross-examination of this witness.
All right, we will go until 2:00.
Your Honor, we asked for five minutes
two days ago
and you refused to give it to us.
-You are shouting at the court.
-Oh, Your Honor.
I have never shouted at you
during this trial.
Your Honor, your voice has been raised,
and several times...
-You have been disrespectful.
It is not disrespectful.
And sometimes even worse than that.
Will you step off the witness stand?
He's just trying to calm us both down.
I needed no calming down!
Allen Ginsberg demonstrated
to the court
a chant that he uses to calm tensions
and quiet crowds.
It goes, "Um".
When an argument broke out
between defense attorneys
and the judge
about an early recess,
Ginsberg said, "Um".
The judge got mad
and kicked him out of the courtroom.
And there was a running verbal battle
down in the corridors, into the elevator
between the defendants
and the lawyers.
Under cross-examination,
US Attorney Thomas Foran,
had Ginsberg read to the jury
three of his most erotic writings.
The jury looked shocked.
It's doubtful that they understood
Ginsberg's explanation
of the religious significance
of those works.
-Hello.
-Yeah.
-Yes. Yes. Abbie.
-How are you?
Okay. How was it in court today?
There's a whole fascist thing going on
around this trial.
This is the only trial
where you search the hair
before you come in.
I mean,
they have this whole thing downstairs,
if you've got long hair
you don't get in the federal building.
-That must be a relief for you.
-Right. Oh, I'm always pulling that.
I'll say, "Yeah, okay, I'll see you.
You can have my seat.
"Go ahead,
get the next short-haired prisoner."
The public starts waiting
about 10:00 at night
outside the federal building
to get into our trial.
In Chicago now,
it's about 15 below zero at night.
Gentlemen, what was it like
out here last night?
Cold. Very cold.
- Were you able to get any sleep?
-No.
Have you got anything more with you
than the blanket
that's wrapped around your shoulders?
-Not other than what's on me, no.
If I did, it would be on me.
Is it worth standing out here
in this freezing cold?
I think so.
Why? What's the attraction?
Well, it's something
that you're not gonna see on television
and I'd like to see it,
you know, first-hand.
-How long have you been out here?
-Since about 4:00 this morning.
-Are you pretty cold?
-I'm freezing.
These people are Communists.
I receive intelligence reports.
There is a Communist conspiracy
in which they're involved,
not only in this country, but abroad.
Order in the court. Order in the court.
Here come the judges.
-All right.
Hey, man, what's up? Good to see you.
-Hey, honey, how you doing?
-Hey, what's up?
Order in the court. Order in the court.
-How you doing there, Counselor?
Oh, you look lovely today, ma'am.
Is that your real hair?
You don't need to get up.
May the record show
that the defendants
Hoffman and Rubin came in attired
in what might be called
collegiate robes.
That's judge's robes, sir.
Some might even consider them
judicial robes.
Judicial robes, that's right.
Your idea, Mr. Kunstler?
Another of your brilliant ideas?
Your Honor,
I can't take the credit for this one.
That amazes me.
Take off those robes.
-Off with the robes.
-Off with the robes.
-Off with the robes.
Abbie, I don't want to suggest
that you change your style
or anything like that,
but have you ever considered
that maybe saying all these things
is antagonizing the judge?
Maybe you should try being nice.
Frankly, the only thing
that we and Julius would agree upon is
that we're infantile.
I have to reduce myself to being or even seven or eight
confronting my third or fourth grade
English teacher
who wants to make me do fucking ovals,
round, round ovals, you know,
for seven hours a day,
you know, when I want
to go out in the schoolyard and play.
That's how I have to relate to him.
And I think our role...
We're kids. It's not us and the kids.
I mean, it's true,
we're some kind of teacher, too,
and our role in the court
is to destroy its authority
and the next generation will come along
and destroy its power.
Conspiracy.
-Bob?
-Yeah.
Did you get Southern? Terry Southern?
-He's not there.
-He's not there?
-He's not there, that's right.
-He's the first witness tomorrow.
He told me yesterday
that he wasn't going to be in
until 8:00 or 9:00 tonight.
No, no.
He was due in at 11:00 this morning.
Here call... I know what, call his hotel...
We called. He's not there.
He hasn't checked in.
How about calling his home
and seeing when he left?
'Cause, see, he's the first witness
and we're really shy
on witnesses tomorrow.
We might have to get
Yippie pneumonia or something.
This is Abbie.
Oh, he's in Chicago?
Okay, bye. Okay, I'll see you. Bye.
We must have a $2,000 a week
phone bill.
Most of our money
we raise by speaking,
which means we have to leave court,
we meet for two hours,
and then people like to fly
around the country to go speak,
have to get back into Chicago
by 2:00, 3:00 a.m.,
get up at 8:00 for another meeting,
get into court from 10:00 to 4:30.
"Hoffman to come,
the honorarium is $1,000."
Yeah, they want to know
if you would speak there
for 15, 20 minutes at 10:00 p.m.
-In where?
-In Los Angeles.
We're really taking the issues
of this trial across the country.
Especially to the campuses
on weekends and on evenings like this.
And they sold 27,000 tickets
in two days.
How's this for an ego trip?
I got a letter today that said,
"Abbie Hoffman, Chicago, Illinois."
-That's something, huh?
-That's fame, Abbie. That's immortality.
Accused of conspiracy,
we call ourselves The Conspiracy.
We answer the telephone,
"This is The Conspiracy".
Dig it. They accuse us of inciting to riot.
It's impossible to incite to riot.
If somebody wants to riot, he riots.
Malcolm X put it well. He said,
"I didn't come here to get you
"to do anything
you weren't going to do anyway."
And the question is,
are we going to be strong enough,
powerful enough, brave enough,
together enough
to survive as a generation
and change this country?
David Dellinger.
All right, thanks.
We are the future of this country,
the future belongs to us.
All power to the people. Right on, do it.
Arriving 9:42.
The Conspiracy stands
for the right of free men
and free women
to walk on a free planet.
And of that, we're guilty,
five years, 10 years, 20 years,
we're guilty until we destroy
that motherfucking system. Right on.
We're bigger than The Stones.
As soon as I walk out of that court,
it's like La Dolce Vita, you know,
with the paparazzi
and all these, like, people chasing me.
You know, I get, like,
marriage proposals sent to me
and jellybeans.
Then there's this special toy
they want to call an Abbie.
There's a soft drink called Yippie.
-Yeah, I know. In Baltimore I saw that.
-Yeah. A soft drink.
Is everybody rolling now?
Is anybody not rolling? Go ahead.
-Do it.
It's La Dolce Vita.
The people of the world
are going to defeat
that Goliath called imperialism.
There are one billion Davids
around the world
with rocks in their hands.
There are one billion Judas with knives
ready to sneak in the tent
and cut the head off
the motherfucking monster.
We will not submit,
we will not go into their ovens.
We will fight back,
we will not submit to America's children
for breakfast program.
Fuck off, you Philistines in Washington.
I'm talking about stop this war
and stop this trial.
And this generation is going to take
this country back
by any means necessary.
Stop the trial! Stop the trial!
Yes, we're against violence.
The greatest test of this protest
is whether we can stop
the massive violence in Vietnam.
-Fuck you, LBJ!
-Fuck you, LBJ!
Demonstrators started gathering
in the park across
from the Hilton Hotel at 11:00 p.m.
More than 400 police officers guard
the front of the Hilton,
headquarters for
the Democratic National Committee
and other agents of the President.
-Fuck you, LBJ!
-Fuck you, LBJ!
-Fuck you, LBJ!
-Fuck you, LBJ!
-Fuck you, LBJ!
-Fuck you, LBJ!
Has there been any violence
tonight at all here
across the street
from the Conrad Hilton?
Yes, there has been.
-Can you tell us what it was?
-I'll give you an exhibit.
There were several of these
thrown at police officers.
Would you describe that?
Yes, it's a golf ball, a practice ball
that has many spikes through it.
I take one look at the troops in Vietnam,
I know what America's
foreign policy is about.
America now is the America
of the Democratic Party.
Most of us here didn't come
to support McCarthy.
-The guards!
- The troops are out.
-The guards!
-Troops are out.
-Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now!
This is Gore Vidal here.
Isn't it wonderful to be in a free country
where we can speak
in front of bayonets?
We are faced with
a situation here today
where the enemy appears
to be the troops
that are now facing the demonstrators,
surrounding them.
We don't see the troops as our enemy.
...this orderly selection
of gentlemen here that is behind you.
You should bear in mind
that just as soon
as they get those uniforms off,
a very goodly number of them
will join you.
Everybody sit down and let's sing.
Sit down and sing to the soldiers.
Let's see if they can hear us.
- This land is your land
- This land is your land
- This land is my land
- This land is my land
-From California
-From California
- To the New York Island
- To the New York Island
-From the redwood forest
-From the redwood forest
- To the Gulf Stream waters
- To the Gulf Stream waters
- This land was made for you and me
- This land was made for you and me
One more, this time,
to everybody who is listening,
not to disregard these young people
who are the hope for the...
The reality of American society
is daring us to take a step.
But we are going to take the step.
We are going to gather here,
we are going to make our way
to the Amphitheater,
by any means necessary.
As you probably know, today is
the National Vietnam Moratorium.
The purpose of the Moratorium is,
in essence,
to protest the continuation of the war
and to urge the withdrawal
of American forces in Vietnam.
I myself, and I'm sure all of us,
and all of you, are simply staggered
by the thought of what the life
of a single person
needlessly slaughtered
in Vietnam means.
So, we will read the names of those
who were killed in the war this week.
Michael Edward Adams, Grand City.
Robert Charles, of Chicago.
Ron Charles Allen, South Beloit.
Howard Lloyd Elm, Earl, lllinois.
-Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye.
-Henry A. Holmes...
-The honorable judge...
-...Chicago.
...of the United States district court
is present.
The court is now in session.
Mr. Hoffman,
we are observing the Moratorium.
I am Judge Hoffman, sir.
I believe in equality, sir,
so I prefer to call people "Mister"
or by their first names.
-You will sit down, sir.
-Can I be heard, Your Honor?
-Your Honor, I object
to this man speaking out in court.
-We would just like to propose
a moment of silence.
-You needn't object.
I forbid him to disrupt the proceedings.
Your Honor,
I want to object to Mr. Foran's yelling
in the presence of the jury.
Your Honor has admonished
the defense counsel...
-Your Honor, this is outrageous.
This man is a mouthpiece! Look at him.
He's wearing an armband of his clients.
The government protests his attitude
and requests the court move
to take notice of his conduct!
Your Honor, I think that the temper
and the expression
on Mr. Foran's face speaks
more than any picture could tell.
-Of my contempt for Mr. Kunstler!
-Mr. Kunstler...
To call me a mouthpiece...
-Jesus Christ!
-...and for Your Honor
not to open his mouth and say
that's not to be done in your court,
I think, violates the sanctity of this court.
That is a word Your Honor knows
is contemptuous and contumacious.
Don't tell me what I know.
I want him admonished, Your Honor,
and I request you to do that.
-I do not admonish
the United States attorney
because he was properly
representing his client,
the United States of America.
To call another attorney a mouthpiece?
You, a lawyer, permitting your client
to stand up in the presence of the jury
and disrupt these proceedings...
I don't know how to characterize it.
Your Honor, we do not permit,
or not permit, our clients.
They are free,
independent human beings
who have been brought
by the government to this courtroom.
-That's right.
They're free,
but they'll conform to the law
and they'll conform to the direction
of the court here, sir.
-Are you turning down my request?
-I not only turn it down, I ignore it.
That speaks louder than words.
The crowd of
about 10,000 anti-war protesters
finally got a permit today to hold a rally
in the Band Shell area of Grant Park.
Police performed the menial task
of passing out handbills
telling the demonstrators that a permit
for their rally had been granted,
quote, "In the interest of free speech
and assembly" end quote.
The handbills also said that no permit
for a march to the Amphitheater
had been granted
and that demonstrators would get
nowhere but to a jail cell
if they tried to march.
Why did you come to the rally
in the first place?
We're sympathetic with these people
and their feelings.
Are you and these other, as you put it,
beautiful people looking for trouble?
No, I think we all recognize
that we don't have a chance
against bayonets,
clubs, guns and tear gas.
We're unarmed
and most of us are nonviolent.
Do you intend to stay on here
if there's trouble?
No, we'll run very fast.
I've just got word
from the Chicago Police
that there are 15,000 people
in this park right now.
And under these circumstances,
I think that's pretty great.
Now, let me tell you what we have
planned for this afternoon.
We're going to hear
from a few speakers
and then, as discussed,
I will be leading a nonviolent march
down to the Democratic Convention
at the Amphitheater.
We will be prepared for arrest
if that's what is going to happen.
But we believe
that the power of the people is a permit,
and we hope that the city will let us go.
All right, our first speaker
will be the Youth International Party's
Jerry Rubin.
Welcome to
the most important convention
that is going on in this city. Yeah!
Right now I'm ready to go to jail.
I'm ready to get clubbed on the head.
I'm ready to die to change this country.
We come here to express
our point of view
about the Convention,
and what do we have?
Twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week,
we've got a fucking armed camp.
You know what I say? Fuck them!
They announced that this would be
the most secure convention
in the history of the country.
They have no respect
for organized protest.
The gas falls on all of us
and it is time for us to begin to show
a little bit of contempt
and a little bit of resistance
because that is all
that they are showing us.
At this point we will begin
to assemble peacefully
for a nonviolent march
to the Amphitheater.
We have got to go.
A little faster in the front.
All right, we're just keeping our cool,
moving out here.
There's a tremendous crowd
and we want the people in the back
to be able to form
into orderly lines also.
We'd like not to have
too many people massed in front
or the side.
We're trying to have an orderly march,
eight abreast.
It looks to me like we're many more
than eight abreast.
Now, if we do get
into a confrontation situation...
I want to request again, demand again
that I be able
to cross-examine the witness.
Now, you have Benjamin Franklin
and George Washington
sitting in pictures behind you
and they were slave owners,
that's what they were.
They owned slaves.
And you are acting in the same manner
by denying me my constitutional right.
-Young man, if you keep this up...
-Look, old man, you're being exposed
to the public and to the world
that you don't...
-Have him sit down, Mr. Marshal.
I want to defend myself!
I have the right to speak
on behalf of my constitutional rights.
I didn't think I would ever live to sit...
To sit on a bench in a courtroom
where George Washington
was assailed by a defendant
and a judge was criticized
for having his portrait on the wall.
The law protects my right
not to be discriminated against.
Why don't you recognize that?
-Mr. Seale! Do you want to stop?
Or do you want me to direct...
-You can't deny me my rights!
You can't deny me
my constitutional rights!
Take that defendant
into the room in there
and deal with him
as he should be dealt with.
I still want to be represented.
I want to represent myself!
Let me go! I want to represent myself.
It's my constitutional right.
I got a right! I got a right! I got a right!
If anybody's interfering with our rights,
we're going to take
this peacefully and orderly.
I would like a chance to speak
to the commanding officer, please.
Are you the commanding officer?
I'm David Dellinger,
National Mobilization.
We wanted to communicate peacefully
from here to the Amphitheater.
There will be no march.
There will be no march.
There's no permit to march.
Well, we believe it's not necessary
to have a permit.
There will be no march today.
That's our order.
We would like to have a reason
so that that could be communicated
to the world.
There will be no march today.
Your Honor, if Mr. Seale would express
to the court his willingness to be quiet,
will the court entertain the possibility
of Mr. Seale being unbound
and ungagged?
Mr. Seale, if you will assure the court
that you will be respectful
and conduct yourself in a manner
that is gentlemanly,
then I am willing to allow you
to resume your former place
at the table.
Will you, sir?
I would like to speak
on behalf of my constitutional right.
-If you will give me your assurance,
will you please indicate
by raising your head up and down?
Mr. Marshal, I don't think
you have accomplished your purpose
by that contrivance.
-...I would freely express my...
-We will take another recess.
I want to speak
on behalf of my constitutional right!
You can't deny me my rights.
You can't deny me
my constitutional right!
All right, now we're continuing
to maintain our cool.
We have been told by a captain
that there will be no march today.
When we asked him why,
he said, "Those are the orders.
There will be no march today."
We're stubborn bastards.
We may be nonviolent,
but we're stubborn.
Yes, yeah. I just want to get them out of
here so they won't do anything to them.
Get your hands off me.
Go! Come on now. Go! Go!
Just roll them over!
Roll up the window and go, ma'am, go!
Come on now, go.
Negotiations at the front of the march
have not produced anything so far,
negotiation with the police.
Two Mobilization representatives
have gone to talk
to negotiate with people higher up
in the administration,
perhaps Daley,
though that is not confirmed.
Well, we're right in the middle
of negotiating about a decision
as to where we're going to go.
-Are you going to get out of here?
-I think we will.
You think they'll let you march?
I think that we will be able
to proceed further.
And so it is our opinion
that we should regroup
at the Hilton Hotel.
We are not being arrested here,
so we will proceed to the Hilton Hotel
to regroup.
Man, please.
If Your Honor please.
The buckles on the leather strap
that's holding Mr. Seale's hand
are digging into his hand.
Could he be assisted?
If the Marshal has concluded
that he needs assistance, of course.
Your Honor, are we going
to stop the medieval torture
that's going on in this courtroom?
This is no longer a court of order,
Your Honor.
This is an unholy disgrace.
-Created by Mr. Kunstler!
-Created by nothing
other than what you have done
to this man.
Judge, you come down here
and watch this.
-Fascist dogs!
-Your Honor,
he's being choked to death.
-You low-life son of a bitch!
Somebody protect him!
Your Honor, may the record show that
that comment was made
by Mr. Dellinger?
You fucking fascist pigs! Fascist pigs.
-And that was Mr. Rubin speaking.
-Everything you say will be taken down.
It's cruel,
cruel and unusual punishment.
You're a fascist dog, Judge.
Why don't you just kill him
if you're going to gag him?
I mean, doesn't it seem that way?
You are not permitted
to address the court, Mr. Hoffman.
This is not a court. It's a neon oven.
This whole thing started
when these guys got into overkill.
It's the same thing
as last year in Chicago!
It's the exact same thing!
Two blocks north,
there's an open bridge.
Two blocks north,
there's an open bridge.
Go north on Michigan then over
to the Conrad Hilton to get through.
You go directly across
the National Guard troops
blocking the way with machine guns.
You're not alive.
You're a dead person with no feelings.
And you call me a long-haired freak.
But that's what this is all about,
you know? The compassion.
Do you men ever stop to think
or do you obey blindly?
State-ordered machines.
Kill! Kill!
-Kill!
-Hey, kill. Come on.
-Come on, kill!
-Come on!
-Come on, I'm over here.
-Kill, shoot, come on.
-Just shoot. Use those things.
-Come on, shoot to kill.
-Kill!
-Shoot to kill!
-Kill!
-Kill!
-Kill! Come on!
-Come on, shoot.
Kill! That's it, spray him, get him.
Watch the gas!
Watch it, boys. Cover your face.
Cover your face.
The cans, watch the cans!
Jesus Christ.
Be careful, they're kids.
Let's get water.
-Don't run!
-Don't run! Don't run! Don't run!
Don't run!
You people... You people on the street.
Don't get trapped by the cops
and don't play games with them.
'Cause they're not playing games
with us.
Stay together. Stay together.
Don't let them stop you,
don't let them provoke you,
don't let them catch you alone.
-Join us! Join us! Join us!
-Join us! Join us! Join us!
-Join us! Join us! Join us!
-Join us! Join us! Join us!
Let's hold on
and see what happens here.
Cut him off! Cut him off!
-He got him!
-He got him, he got him.
Get behind the mule train
so you can follow it
right to the Amphitheater.
There's an illegitimate convention
being held there.
Shoot the Bar Mace,
you fucking jackoff.
-Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
-Peace now! Peace now! Peace now!
-Watch it. The cops are coming.
-It's the cops.
If you want the street, take it!
Watch it. The cops are coming now.
Come on, move it! Get out of here!
You prick ass motherfucking chump,
you ain't shit!
Mace, mace, mace.
Spray in my face, and I'll kill you.
Up against the wall, motherfucker.
Open them up.
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
Peace.
Get in here.
There's nothing else.
There's not our daddies.
There's no one else. It's us.
We're the only people
that can protect ourselves
from genocide
and protect all of us on trial
and everyone else on trial.
And I have no program on what to do.
I think it's wrong for someone to get up
and say, "Tell us what to do",
'cause you know what to do,
you know where you are,
you know what's effective.
And you know that across the country
there are people like you
who are ready to act.
And they don't need no leader
telling them what to do,
'cause we're all leaders.
They don't need anyone giving orders.
They don't even need anyone
giving instructions.
And I can tell you
that all eight of us are going to jail
with that view of history,
with that view of the future.
And we're all going to jail smiling
'cause we know damn well
that the people in this room
are going to break the jail down
and free us! Thank you.
With all these people here,
I think the most appropriate,
very human,
revolutionary thing to first say,
like we always say, is,
"All power to the people".