Flint War Council gun. There was also a giant papier-mâché gun, with bullets attached to pictures of President Richard Nixon, Vice-President Spiro Agnew, California Governor Ronald Reagan, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, and Sharon Tate, who had recently been murdered by Charles Manson and his cult followers. Two important decisions were made during the War Council. The first of these decisions was to go underground, which stemmed from the fact that law enforcement was increasing pressure on the WUO and similar groups (as evidenced by the killing of Fred Hampton), as well as the belief that going underground was the best way to
Manson Family despite precautions taken by the court, Manson flashed the jury a "Los Angeles Times" front page whose headline was "Manson Guilty, Nixon Declares". This was a reference to a statement made the previous day when U.S. President Richard Nixon had decried what he saw as the media's glamorization of Manson. Voir dired by Judge Charles Older, the jurors contended that the headline had not influenced them. The next day, the female defendants stood up and said in unison that, in light of Nixon's remark, there was no point in going on with the trial. On October 5, Manson was denied