The Trial of the Chicago 7 Page #21

204 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 204

KUNSTLER:

Were you resisting arrest?

150.

TOM:

They pushed us through the window.

KUNSTLER:

You overrun the riot police-

And now TOM and KUNSTLER begin talking over each other at the

same time-

KUNSTLER (CONT'D) TOM

--make it past the tear gas, (simultaneously)

make it past the national Which is more than Rennie can

guard, find an open bridge, say! Over 400 people admitted

you can practically reach to area hospitals with severe

your hand out and touch the injuries! They had armored

convention and you gave vehicles! Bayonets! They took

yourself up peacefully? off their name tags and

badges! We were trying to

protest peacefully at the

f***ing convention!

205 INT. HAYMARKET TAVERN -NIGHT 205

TOM is sitting on the floor in the rubble and the

aftermath...He sees ABBIE sitting against a wall in

handcuffs...They’re both bleeding and they share a look of

defeat...

POLICEMAN (O.S.)

Hands behind your back.

TOM:

(pause)

Yeah.

206 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 206

KUNSTLER:

Who started the riot, Tom?

TOM is spent. After a moment he says a word that doesn’t mean

to make sense by itself...

TOM:

(pause)

“Our”.

KUNSTLER:

(pause)

What?

151.

TOM:

(beat)

“Our”. “Our blood”.

ABBIE puts it together...

ABBIE:

(pause)

“Our” blood. If “our” blood is

going to flow--you meant to say,

“If ‘our’ blood is going to flow,

let it flow all over the city.” You

didn’t mean the cops, you were

saying if they’re going to beat us

up then everyone should see it.

KUNSTLER:

(quietly)

Jesus Christ.

ABBIE:

You do this-

(to KUNSTLER)

He does this, it’s a pattern. Read

his portion of the Port Huron

Statement. He implies possessive

pronouns and he uses vague noun

modifiers.

TOM looks at ABBIE...

TOM:

(pause)

You read the Port Huron Statement?

ABBIE:

I’ve read everything you’ve

published.

TOM:

I didn’t know that.

ABBIE:

You’re a talented guy. Except for

the possessive pronouns and the

vague-

TOM:

I know.

And for the first time, TOM is able to allow himself a

laugh...then-

152.

TOM (CONT'D)

(to KUNSTLER)

Put Abbie on the stand instead.

JUDGE HOFFMAN (V.O.)

Would you state your full name for

the record please.

207 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 207

ABBIE’s on the stand.

ABBIE:

It’s Abbie.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

Your last name.

ABBIE:

My grandfather’s name was

Shaboysnakoff but he was a Russian

Jew protesting anti-semitism so he

was assigned a name that would

sound like yours.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

What is your date of birth?

ABBIE:

Psychologically, 1960.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

What were you doing until 1960?

ABBIE:

Nothing really. It’s called an

American education.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

Why don’t we just proceed with the

testimony.

ABBIE:

Sure.

KUNSTLER:

Do you know why you’re on trial

here?

ABBIE:

We carried certain ideas across

state lines. Not machine guns or

drugs or little girls.

(MORE)

153.

ABBIE (CONT'D)

When we crossed from New York to

New Jersey to Pennsylvania to Ohio

to Illinois, we had certain ideas.

And for that, we were gassed,

beaten, arrested and put on trial.

In 1861, Lincoln said in his

Inaugural address that, “When the

people shall grow weary of their

Constitutional right to amend their

government, they shall exert their

revolutionary right to dismember

and overthrow that government.” And

if Lincoln had given that speech in

Lincoln Park last summer he’d be on

trial with the rest of us.

KUNSTLER:

How do you overthrow and dismember

a government peacefully?

ABBIE:

In this country we do it every four

years.

KUNSTLER:

That’s all.

KUNSTLER sits.

SCHULTZ smiles a little...

SCHULTZ:

So Chicago was just a massive voter

registration drive.

ABBIE:

(laughs)

Yeah.

SCHULTZ:

Did you hear the tape that was

played in court of Mr. Hayden at

the bandshell?

ABBIE:

Yes.

SCHULTZ:

You heard the tape?

ABBIE:

Yes.

154.

SCHULTZ:

Did you hear Mr. Hayden give an

instruction to his people to take

to the streets?

ABBIE:

His people. Hayden’s not a mafia

Don and neither am I.

SCHULTZ:

Did you hear him say, “If blood is

gonna flow, let it flow all over

the city”?

ABBIE:

The beginning of the sentence was

supposed to be-

(beat--forget it)

Yes. Yes I did.

SCHULTZ:

What do you think of that?

ABBIE:

I think Tom Hayden’s a badass of an

American patriot.

SCHULTZ:

I didn’t ask what you thought of

the man, I asked what you thought

of his instruction to the crowd.

ABBIE:

You know, I’ve heard Tom Hayden

say, “Let’s end the war” too but

nobody stopped shooting. You can do

anything to anything by taking it

out of context, Mr. Schultz.

SCHULTZ:

Is that right?

ABBIE:

A guy once said, “I am come to set

a man at variance with his father.

And the daughter against her

mother.” You know who said it?

SCHULTZ:

Jerry Rubin?

ABBIE:

(laughing a little)

Yeah. No. It was Jesus Christ.

(MORE)

155.

ABBIE (CONT'D)

Matthew 10:
34. And it sure sounds

like he’s telling kids to kill

their parents. Until you read

Matthew 10:
33 and 10:35.

SCHULTZ:

Did you-

ABBIE:

He’d just seen his best friend get

hit in the face with a nightstick.

The police, Mr. Schultz, whose

people are they?

SCHULTZ:

Do you have contempt for your

government?

ABBIE:

(laughing)

Do I-

SCHULTZ:

Do you have contempt for your

government?

ABBIE:

I think the institutions of our

democracy are wonderful things

that, right now, are populated by

some terrible people.

SCHULTZ:

Please answer the question.

ABBIE:

Tell me again?

SCHULTZ:

Do you have contempt for your

government?

ABBIE:

I’ll tell you, Mr. Schultz, it’s

nothing compared to the contempt my

government has for me.

SCHULTZ:

We’ve heard from 27 witnesses

who’ve testified under oath that

you hoped for a confrontation with

the police.

(MORE)

156.

SCHULTZ (CONT'D)

That your plans for the convention

were specifically designed to draw

the police into a confrontation.

ABBIE:

If I’d known it was going to be the

first wish of mine that came true I

would’ve aimed higher.

SCHULTZ:

It’s a yes or no question. When you

came to Chicago were you hoping for

a confrontation with the police?

ABBIE says nothing for a moment...

SCHULTZ (CONT'D)

I’m concerned that you have to

think about it.

ABBIE:

Gimme me a moment, would you

friend? I’ve never been on trial

for my thoughts before.

FADE TO BLACK:

TITLE:

Trial Day 113

208 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 208

We see some familiar faces in the gallery. DAVE’S FAMILY,

HOWARD, DAPHNE, BERNADINE...and we now see that FROINES and

WEINER are in the front row of the gallery too, no longer

with the defendants.

We HEAR a heavy door open on the side and the gallery hushes,

their eyes fixed on the side door.

The DEFENDANTS are led in wearing prison coveralls. They

exchange looks with FROINES and WEINER as they’re led to the

defense table.

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