The Trial of the Chicago 7 is Aaron Sorkin's take
on the trial of a group of anti-Vietnam War protesters
back in the 60s.
The ensemble cast play fictional versions
of real-life characters
in the historic trial related to protests and police violence
at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
But what happened to those characters after the events of the film?
Let's get into it.
Now, before we speak about each defendant,
let's take a look at what happened immediately after the trial.
In real life, the defendants and their counsel were all charged
with multiple counts of contempt by Judge Hoffman.
In the end, the jury found five of the seven defendants guilty
of travelling between states with the intent to incite a riot.
All of those convictions were reversed on appeal
when the Seventh Circuit found several errors
in Judge Hoffman's conduct.
Judge Hoffman, by the way, continued to preside over cases
until his death at age 87 in 1983.
Now, onto the defendants, starting with Bobby Seale.
As we see in the film, the Chicago Seven was originally dubbed
"the Chicago Eight",
with the inclusion of the co-founder of the Black Panthers, Bobby Seale,
portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The shocking scenes of him being bound and gagged
on the order of the judge happened in real life, too.
He was bound and gagged for three days.
After being removed from the trial,
he was sentenced to four years in jail
for 16 counts of contempt of court.
Police also attempted to charge him
with the murder of another Black Panther,
but he was acquitted on all counts.
In 1973, he ran for mayor of Oakland
and came second.
His autobiography, A Lonely Rage, came out in 1988,
and he has visited hundreds of colleges
giving advice to students interested in community organising
and social justice.
Tom Hayden is played by Eddie Redmayne in the film.
Well, we want to underscore again that we're coming to Chicago peacefully,
but whether we're given permits or not, we're coming.
After the trial, the real-life Hayden travelled to Vietnam several times.
As the end card of the film notes,
he was elected to the California State Legislature
in 1982,
and was re-elected six more times.
He also ended up with a connection to Hollywood.
Hayden was married to actress Jane Fonda for 17 years.
Now, Fonda is also well-known for her activism,
and they made a documentary together about the Vietnam War.
Hayden died in 2016 at the age of 76 due to heart problems.
What are you wearing?
It's an homage to you, Your Honour.
Do you have clothes underneath there?
Yes.
Hold on.
Yes.
Abbie Hoffman, played by Sacha Baron Cohen,
went on to write the famous Steal This Book in 1971,
which became a countercultural classic.
After the trial, Hoffman did spend some time in prison
due to cocaine possession.
He lived under a false name for six years
in an attempt to escape this charge,
but eventually turned himself in by 1980.
Hoffman later returned to activism
and was arrested for trespassing at the University of Massachusetts
while protesting CIA recruitment there.
In 1989, at the age of 52,
he was found dead in his apartment of an overdose.
This was later ruled to be a suicide.
At the time of his death,
his FBI file was said to be more than 13,000 pages long.
Watch out.
Oh, Jesus Christ. How did you do that?
Experience.
Jerry Rubin has one of the stranger post-movie title cards in the film.
Rubin, who is played by Jeremy Strong,
did indeed become a businessman and a stockbroker
and did die in 1994 of a heart attack
two weeks after he was hit by a car outside his penthouse apartment.
In the 1970s, he was an early investor in Apple,
an investment which helped make him a multi-millionaire.
By 1980, he was working on Wall Street,
arguing that he could make more difference from within it
than protesting outside it.
Rennie Davis, a leader of the Students for a Democratic Society,
alongside Hayden,
is played by Alex Sharp in the film.
After the trial, the real-life Davis became a public speaker.
In the early 1970s,
he became a follower of religious movement The Divine Light Mission.
Later on, he became a venture capitalist
and a lecturer in self-awareness and meditation.
He died on February 2nd, 2021, at 80 years old.
John Carroll Lynch plays David Dellinger,
who was the non-violent leader
of the mobilisation to end the war in Vietnam.
His activism continued after the trial.
During the 1996 National Convention,
he was arrested alongside Abbie Hoffman's son
for a sit-in protest.
He died in 2004 at the age of 88.
John Froines, played by Daniel Flaherty,
was one of the two defendants acquitted in the trial.
He went on to work in public health
and was the director of UCLA's Occupational Health Centre
until his retirement in 2011.
Any idea what's going on?
It's been years since I've had any idea what was going on.
The other defendant acquitted in the trial was Lee Weiner.
He began teaching at Rutgers University afterwards
but lost his contract after he was overheard joking
he would start a new Communist Party.
He's since worked for the Anti-Defamation League
and campaigned for greater AIDS research funding.
His memoir, Conspiracy to Riot, came out in the summer of 2020.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now streaming.
And for more explainers on the history behind Netflix films and TV shows,
make sure you subscribe to the channel.
We have to find some courage now.
How much is it worth to you? What's your price?
To call off the revolution?
My life.