Читать книгу History of the Trial of the Chicago 7 - Bruce A. Ragsdale - Страница 14

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The defendants and their attorneys went well beyond the rebuttal of the criminal charges and sought to portray the proceedings as a political trial rather than a criminal prosecution. In their legal arguments, in their courtroom behavior, and in their numerous public appearances, they challenged the legitimacy of the court and the judge as well as the substance of the indictment. The trial became for the defense an opportunity to portray the dissent movement that had converged on Chicago for the Democratic Convention.

The defense called more than 100 witnesses, many of them participants or by-standers in the clashes between the police and the demonstrators. The jury heard repeated testimony about unprovoked police violence and the extensive injuries among the demonstrators. Well-known writers and performers, including Allen Ginsberg, William Styron, Dick Gregory, Norman Mailer, Arlo Guthrie, and Judy Collins, testified to the peaceful intent of the defendants. The judge denied the request to subpoena President Johnson. Mayor Daley appeared as a defense witness but said little as the judge upheld the government’s objection to most of the defense questions.

Abbie Hoffman and Rennie Davis were the only defendants to testify. Abbie Hoffman described himself as a resident of the Woodstock Nation and an orphan of America, and he offered a lengthy narrative of his involvement in politics and the origins of the Yippie movement. Davis recounted his role in the organization of the demonstrations and his encounters with the police during the convention. On cross-examination, the government attorneys attempted to establish that use of the words “revolution” and “battle” constituted incitements to riot, but the exchanges with the defendants made clear how difficult it was to connect demonstrators’ rhetoric with the violence in Chicago.