Abbie Hoffman Pentagon Levitation Protest

On October 21, 1967, during a massive anti–Vietnam War demonstration at the Pentagon, Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, Jerry Rubin, and Michael Bowen led thousands of protesters who vowed to levitate the building, exorcise its evil, and end the war. Organizers even filed for a permit to raise the Pentagon 300 feet into the air through songs and chants, but authorities only allowed a symbolic 3 feet. Tens of thousands marched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon, where they staged an elaborate exorcism ritual with flowers, mantras, and theatrical invocations. The building never moved, but the March on the Pentagon became a landmark act of political theater and a turning point in public opinion about the Vietnam War.

Previous Fact Next Fact