Conspiracy to Riot

A memoir of a life in activism by one of the original defendants in the Trial of the Chicago 7, subject of the 2020 Oscar-nominated Aaron Sorkin film of the same name. In March 1969, eight young men were indicted by the federal government for conspiracy to incite a riot. First dubbed the "Conspiracy 8" and later the "Chicago 7," the group included firebrands like Abbie Hoffman and Bobby Seale, but also a little-known community activist and social worker named Lee Weiner, from the South Side of Chicago, who was just as surprised as the rest of the country when his name was called. The ensuing trial of the Chicago 7 was a media sensation, and it changed Weiner's life forever. In this irreverent, freewheeling memoir of an indelible moment in history, Conspiracy to Riot shows how commitment to your ideals can change your destiny--for better and for worse. With startling relevance in today's political climate, Conspiracy to Riot is a book for anyone who hopes for a better, more just world, and a blueprint for how to make it happen.