The Trial of the Chicago 7 Page #13

RENNIE:

(to JERRY)

Just calm the crowd down.

(beat)

Help me calm ‘em down, Jerry.

DAPHNE:

Baby. Defuse the situation. They’ll

listen to you.

JERRY:

Huh.

DAPHNE:

What?

JERRY:

Nothing, that sounded nice when you

said it.

DAPHNE:

Right now!

JERRY:

Yeah.

91.

116 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 116

DAPHNE:

Someone from the crowd shouts-

117 INT. COLLEGE AUDITORIUM -NIGHT 117

ABBIE:

A guy somewhere in the crowd shouts-

118 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 118

SCOTT:

--it may have been Jerry Rubin-

KUNSTLER and WEINGLASS both jump up-

KUNSTLER:

Object.

WEINGLASS:

(simultaneously)

Objection.

KUNSTLER:

If he doesn’t know who it was-

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

Sustained.

SCHULTZ:

Someone in the crowd shouted what?

119 EXT. GRANT PARK -DAY 119

SOMEONE IN THE CROWD

(shouting)

Take the hill!

And suddenly a land rush breaks out. The CROWD starts

charging up a hundred-yard hill to a statue that sits atop-heading

right for the RIOT POLICE.

JERRY and RENNIE take in what’s happening and then-

RENNIE:

Sh*t.

JERRY:

Oh f***.

92.

JERRY and RENNIE begin running after and through the crowd-

RENNIE:

(to the protestors)

Stop running!

JERRY:

(to the protestors)

Stop running! Slow down!

We can HEAR an officer on a bullhorn-

POLICEMAN:

There are no permits for this

demonstration! You are ordered to

leave the park immediately! There

are no permits for this

demonstration! You are ordered to

leave the park immediately!

120 INT. COLLEGE AUDITORIUM -NIGHT 120

ABBIE:

The street name for

chloroacetophenone is tear gas and

it’s a f***in’ blow torch--your

lungs, your skin, your eyes...Riot

clubs? They’re made out of the same

wood they use for baseball bats.

121 EXT. GRANT PARK -DAY 121

Tear gas canisters get fired into the crowd as the POLICE

strap on gas masks. The POLICE move into the CROWD and start

swinging their clubs full force. The unlucky ones near the

gas emerge from the thick, grey dust blinded and gasping for

air. Others have blood spray from their foreheads and down

their mouths as they get struck in the face with clubs.

JERRY and RENNIE are trying to pull people away and send them

back down the hill.

We see the YOUNG WOMAN in the beret--she’s making her way

through the crowd, through the tear gas and up the hill.

Suddenly she’s tackled from behind by the three FRAT BOYS.

FRAT BOY #1

I told you to put that flag down,

go in the kitchen and make me a

f***in’ sandwich!

93.

They grab her as she tries to escape. She’s screaming as

she’s smacked in the face and her shirt gets torn off.

Now JERRY sees this and starts flying toward her through the

crowd.

JERRY:

Hey! What are you doin?! Get the

f*** offa her! What the f*** is the

matter with you?!

JERRY pulls one guy off-

JERRY (CONT'D)

Get the f*** offa her!

FRAT BOY #2

F*** you, hippie f*ggot!

And the punch that JERRY’s wanted to throw for years lands

square in the face of this guy, and just as quickly, JERRY’s

elbow breaks the nose of the guy’s buddy who’s about to help

him. The third guy goes running to avoid the tear gas that’s

just been shot into the area.

JERRY tends to the girl-

JERRY:

You’re alright. You’re okay.

JERRY pulls off his shirt-

JERRY (CONT'D)

Here. You’re okay.

He takes a bandana from his pocket-

JERRY (CONT'D)

You need to hold this over your

face and I’ll get you outa here.

But now there’s the sound of a gun locking behind JERRY’s

head. He puts his hands up without turning around-

POLICEMAN:

Don’t move, Jerry.

JERRY:

Get those guys, they were-

JERRY turns around--three POLICEMEN in gas masks have guns on

him...

94.

POLICEMAN:

You’re under arrest.

122 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 122

There’s silence. DAPHNE is on the stand and KUNSTLER is

taking a moment before he begins his cross...

KUNSTLER:

After bailing Tom Hayden out,

Abbie, Dave and Tom returned to the

park, is that correct?

CUT TO:

123 EXT. PARK -EARLY EVENING 123

TOM, ABBIE, JERRY, RENNIE and DAVE survey the scene. The

battle is long over but we can still see some tear gas and

people being treated by EMTs and put into ambulances, etc.

After a long moment...

TOM:

I’ll be honest, I’m starting to

worry about getting everyone out of

Chicago alive.

ABBIE:

That’s not really up to us.

TOM:

Yeah it is.

ABBIE:

What are you lookin’ at me for? I

went to bail you out of jail.

TOM takes a moment because he can’t believe this...

TOM:

(pause)

Eight-hundred people followed you!

ABBIE:

Oh that. Yeah, people follow me,

f*** if I know why?

TOM:

I’m wracking my brain as well.

95.

RENNIE:

(to JERRY)

How’d you make bail so fast?

JERRY:

I wasn’t arrested, I was detained.

They couldn’t figure out what to

charge me with.

DAVE:

Assault.

JERRY:

I was assaulting someone who was

assaulting someone.

DAPHNE:

Guys. Nothing’s more dangerous than

a crowd of people who are moving.

It’s like trying to re-direct the

Mississippi River.

JERRY:

Isn’t she great?

TOM:

(to ABBIE)

Get your people to cool off. We’re

responsible for these people.

ABBIE:

We have to protest in front of the

convention, Tommy, plain and

simple. ‘Cause that’s where the

cameras are. We have to get to the

convention. And that means we have

to leave the park. And that’s when

people’ll get hurt. As long as

every person following me knows

that, I sleep fine at night.

TOM:

Well you should tell me how you do

it.

ABBIE:

A lot of it’s drugs.

TOM:

Yeah.

TOM points to the hill, where tear gas still hovers and

people are being bandaged or handcuffed...

96.

TOM (CONT'D)

That’s what happened when we tried

to go up a hill. We’re not getting

anywhere near the convention.

CUT TO:

124 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 124

DAPHNE still on the stand.

KUNSTLER:

Special Agent O’Connor, you

testified that Jerry Rubin said,

“F*** ‘em all. They’re all pigs. We

should form an army and get guns.”

Yes.

DAPHNE:

KUNSTLER:

And when he said that, did anyone

form an army and get guns?

No.

DAPHNE:

KUNSTLER:

Did Jerry Rubin instruct the crowd

to run into the park?

No.

DAPHNE:

KUNSTLER:

Did Rennie Davis?

No.

DAPHNE:

KUNSTLER:

Was Abbie Hoffman even there?

No.

DAPHNE:

KUNSTLER:

Was Dave Dellinger?

No.

DAPHNE:

97.

KUNSTLER:

Was John Froines there?

DAPHNE:

No.

KUNSTLER:

Lee Weiner?

DAPHNE:

No, he wasn’t there.

KUNSTLER:

And you’ve testified that Jerry and

Rennie--can you say it for me

again?

DAPHNE:

Mr. Kunstler-

KUNSTLER:

They were trying to turn people

around and send them back down the

hill. Just like you told them to.

DAPHNE:

Mr. Kunstler, the demonstrators

attacked the police and the police

responded.

KUNSTLER:

Are any of the demonstrators you

saw attacking the police sitting at

the defense table?

DAPHNE:

No sir.

KUNSTLER:

Thank you.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

The Court will stand-

BOBBY:

I wasn’t there either.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

Mr. Seale-

BOBBY:

I wasn’t there at all and I should

be allowed to cross-examine this-

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