Chicago Seven

The Chicago Seven, originally the Chicago Eight and also known as the Conspiracy Eight or Conspiracy Seven, were seven defendants—Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Lee Weiner—charged by the United States Department of Justice with conspiracy, crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot, and other charges related to anti–Vietnam War and 1960s counterculture protests in Chicago, Illinois, during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven after the case against codefendant Bobby Seale was declared a mistrial.

All of the defendants were charged with and acquitted of conspiracy; Davis, Dellinger, Hayden, Hoffman, and Rubin were charged with and convicted of crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot; Froines and Weiner were charged with teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices and acquitted of those charges. All of the convictions were later reversed on appeal, and the government declined to retry the case. While the jury deliberated, Judge Julius Hoffman convicted the defendants and their attorneys of contempt of court and sentenced them to jail sentences ranging from less than three months to more than four years. The contempt convictions were also appealed, and some were retried before a different judge.

Since the beginning of the trial in 1969, the defendants and their attorneys have been depicted in a variety of art forms, including film, music, and theater.

Background

Planning for the 1968 DNC protests

In the fall of 1967, David Dellinger was the director of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (the Mobe). Planning began during Mobe meetings for an antiwar demonstration at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. A similar plan was created by Students for a Democratic Society Vice President Vernon T. Grizzard, titled "Summer 1968: Possibilities for New Local Organizing".