Black Panther Bobby Seale Bound and Gagged in Court at Trial of the Chicago 8
Black Panther Party Member Bobby Seale, one of the defendants in the trial of the Chicago 8, was ordered bound and gagged by Judge Julius Hoffman on this day because of his angry outbursts and verbal insults of the judge.
Because the judge later separated Seale from the trial, the case is often referred to as the Chicago 7.
In one of the most tumultuous and highly publicized trials of political radicals of the Vietnam War era, the Chicago 8 were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic Party Convention (August 28, 1968). The other defendants in the case were Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin (co-founders of the Yippies), Tom Hayden (co founder of SDS and a long-time political activist), David Dellinger (a conscientious objector in World War II, pacifist, and leader in the anti-Vietnam War movement), Rennie Davis, and Lee Weiner and John Froines.
The trial (September 24, 1969) was marked by numerous confrontations between Judge Hoffman, who displayed hostility to the defendants on many occasions, and the defendants and their lawyers. Seale at one point denounced Hoffman as a “Fascist dog.” Hoffman threatened to cite the defendants for contempt of court when they refused to stand when court recessed as is customary. When the defendants’ lawyers refused to tell them to stand, Judge Hoffman threatened to cite them for contempt.
Despite being gagged, Seale managed to shout through and around the gag. At one point, he slipped free of the leather strap binding his left arm. A near-brawl ensued, involving Seale and federal Marshals.
At the end of the trial, Judge Hoffman convicted all eight of the defendants and cited them and their lawyers for contempt of court (February 15, 1970, February 18, 1970). On appeal, the convictions and the contempt citations were reversed. Hoffman’s evident hostility was one of the reasons for the reversals.
Learn more about the trial of the Chicago 8 here
See a documentary on the protests and the trial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a-sFuzmloE
Read about the trial: Jason Epstein, The Great Conspiracy Trial (1970)
Visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture here