On this day
February 18
February 18, 1970
Chicago Seven verdict returned
After a chaotic five-month trial over the Democratic National Convention protests, the jury acquitted the Chicago Seven (Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner) of conspiracy. Five were convicted of crossing state lines to incite a riot. Judge Hoffman had handed down 175 contempt citations during the trial — most later reversed on appeal.
February 18, 2025
Leonard Peltier released after 49 years
Leonard Peltier
Released
Leonard Peltier was an organizer with the American Indian Movement. In the early 1970s he was dispatched along with other AIM activists to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to investigate allegations...
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AIM activist Leonard Peltier was released to home confinement at the Turtle Mountain reservation, North Dakota — 49 years after his 1976 arrest for the killing of two FBI agents at Pine Ridge. Peltier had been denied parole repeatedly despite international calls for his release; President Biden commuted his sentence on January 20, 2025.