The Trial Became A Defining Moment In The American Counterculture And Spawned More Riots
Shortly after the trial began in late 1969, the more radical subset within the Students for a Democratic Society began to call themselves the Weathermen. The Weathermen took it upon themselves to bring the Vietnam War home with the Days of Rage protests, which was inspired by the Chicago 8 and their ongoing legal battles. According to WTTW Chicago, in early October 1969, a small group of student protesters, led by the Weathermen, marched south from the Lincoln Park neighborhood to the Chicago Loop armed with steel pipes, chains, bats, and slingshots, hellbent on destruction.