Dozens of protesters broke through a security
fence near the site of the Democratic National Convention on its opening
day Monday as thousands took to the streets to voice their opposition
to the war in Gaza.
Families with babies in strollers, students, elected leaders and
others holding signs and flags joined the march to the United Center,
where the convention is being held, to call for a ceasefire in the
Israel-Hamas war. As the larger group marched peacefully, a few dozen
who broke away tore down pieces of the security fence.
Several protesters who had managed to get through the fence were
detained and handcuffed by the police. Officers put on gas masks as some
protesters tried to bring down a second fence set up in front of
police. Authorities said the inner security perimeter surrounding
convention site was not breached and there was no threat to those
attending the convention.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said some of the
protesters who took down the fence threw water bottles and other items
at police. Police de-escalated the situation without using their batons
or chemicals, he said.
“When you have people infiltrate a crowd and they want to commit acts
of violence, vandalism we are going to stop them,” said Snelling, who
walked in a group of officers ahead of the protesters Monday. “We are
not going to tolerate anyone who is going to vandalize things in our
city.”
Members of the crowd chanted “End the occupation now” and then “The
whole world is watching!” just as anti-Vietnam War protesters did during
the infamous 1968 convention in Chicago when police clashed with
protesters on live television. Families gathered on their porches and
outside their doors as protesters marched by. Some children wore
keffiyeh, blew bubbles or held “free fist bumps” signs.
The march happened just as President Joe Biden, who has been the
target of intense criticism from pro-Palestinian groups, including the
marchers, was doing a walk-through of the largely empty United Center.
Biden was scheduled to address the party in the evening.
“Biden, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” the marchers
chanted amid the beating of drums. They also referred to him as
“Genocide Joe” and lodged similar chants at Vice President Kamala
Harris.
Protesters said their plans have not changed since Biden left the
race and the party quickly rallied behind Harris, who will formally
accept the Democratic nomination this week. Activists said they were
ready to amplify their progressive message before the nation's top
Democratic leaders.
“People are dying,” said Cameron Benrud, a 25-year-old high school
special education teacher from Minneapolis. He drove five hours to
attend the rally at Union Park to call on Democratic officials to halt
funding to Israel.
“I’m from little old Minnesota, and you feel kind of powerless... You gotta do something," he said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said authorities were well prepared. “The city
of Chicago is really good at things like this,” he told a news
conference. “We are ready.”
Organizers had hoped at least 20,000 people would take part in
Monday’s rally and march, but it appeared that only a few thousand were
present, though city officials declined to give a crowd estimate.
“We’re proud of the turnout, especially considering the degree of the
repression from the city,” said organizer Faayani Aboma Mijana.
The Chicago area has one of the largest Palestinian communities in
the nation, and buses were bringing activists from all over the country.
Taylor Cook, an organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist
Organization, traveled from Atlanta for the march. Cook said the group
was pushing all Democrats to call for an end to aid to Israel, with a
particular focus on Harris.
“We’re saying to Kamala, she has been complicit in this. People think
it’s just Joe Biden, but she is vice president,” Cook said. “So we’re
saying, you need to stop if you want our vote.”
Medea Benjamin, who traveled to Chicago from Washington, D.C., with a
women-led group of protesters calling for peace, said she was shocked
that the Biden administration recently approved an additional $20
billion in weapons sales to Israel.
“There’s an incredible discrepancy in what people are calling for in
this country and what the administration is doing,” she said ahead of
the rally in Union Park. “We’re so disgusted by this.”
Pro-Palestinian supporters descended on the park, west of the Loop business district, for the rally.
Prior to the march, independent presidential candidate Cornel West addressed the crowd, which welcomed him with cheers.
“This is not about some Machiavellian politics or some utilitarian
calculation about an election,” he yelled into a microphone. “This is
about morality. This is about spirituality.”
Around 40 pro-Israel supporters walked around the park during the
rally. Remaining mostly silent while waving Israeli flags, they were
accompanied by about 20 police officers on bicycles. Although tensions
flared at times, there were no physical altercations.
Josh Weiner, co-founder of Chicago Jewish Alliance who walked with
the pro-Israel group, said their intent was to “make our presence felt.”
He said the group applied for permits that were not approved by the
city.
“The pro-Palestine protesters have gotten multiple permits, including
a march, which seems to be a little bit weighted on one side,” Weiner
said.
Snelling praised police and march organizers for a peaceful Sunday
night protest calling for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and an end to the
war in Gaza. Chicago police said two people were arrested on misdemeanor
charges of resisting police and damaging property..
Some businesses boarded up their windows as a precaution, and county
courts said they would open more space in case of mass arrests. Chicago
police say officers have undergone extensive training on constitutional
policing and de-escalation tactics.
Coalition activists and the city have been at odds over the location
of the protests and other logistics. A judge sided with the city over an
approximately 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) march route, which organizers
argued was not big enough for the expected crowds.
Not a single speaker or spectator showed up to a speakers’ stage
offered by city officials near the United Center. Eight groups with
progressive agendas had signed up for 45-minute speaking slots on
Monday. On other days, some conservative groups, including the Illinois
Policy Institute think tank, have plans to speak.
Also Monday, the Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army, which
advocates for economic justice, planned to set up at Humboldt Park on
the city's northwest side to feature events with third-party
presidential candidates Jill Stein and West, plus a 3-mile (5-kilometer)
march.
