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Protests at the DNC: What the far left is planning on doing in Chicago
All eyes are turning to Chicago as the city gears up to host the Democratic National Convention, which starts next week on Monday and ends on Thursday. Unlike when the Republican National Convention took place in nearby Milwaukee last month, the concerns over the expected protests becoming violent outside the Democrats' event is much higher.
That is because the far-left groups who have been organizing for months are much angrier at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris since they have been in charge during the Israel-Hamas war. After Hamas terrorists attacked Israel and killed around 1,200 people, anti-Israel protests have swept throughout the U.S., demanding the U.S. enforce a ceasefire, put an arms embargo on Israel, and give Palestinians a true state at a minimum.
Since those demands have not been met, protesters are planning on taking out their months-long rage while the DNC is happening at the United Center and McCormick Place.
The March on the DNC represents the main umbrella under which hundreds of far-leftist organizations are planning to participate or give their support next week. The coalition has two main protests: Monday at 12:00 p.m. at Union Park when the DNC starts and Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at the same location when Harris is expected to accept the nomination. Other groups have been advertising their actions to "make it great like '68!"
"The Coalition to March on the DNC stands in unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, and we demand an end to the use of US tax dollars to fund Apartheid Israel's occupation and genocide in Palestine," the group stated on its website.
March on the DNC is predicting over 20,000 people for its protests.
While the main focus in on Israel and Gaza, the coalition says people are marching in support of the following:
Money for jobs, school, health care, housing, and the environment, not for war;
Immigrant rights and legalization for all;
LGBTQIA+ and reproductive rights;
The right to unionize and strike;
Stopping police crimes, having community control of the police; and
Justice, peace, and equality.
The March on the DNC has been in a lengthy legal battle with the city to be able to protest "within sight and sound" of the DNC. Initially, Chicago gave the march permits for a route that was miles away from the United Center. While the city is now giving permits for a march around the venue, there is a dispute over the exact route.
Organizers say the side streets and sharp turns proposed by the city will create bottlenecks, while the Secret Service and Chicago Police Department said the longer route that would take marchers farther along the security perimeter will create a "crush zone" due to the fencing not being flexible, according to WTTW. U.S. District Court Judge Andrea Wood ruled on Tuesday the city's proposed route is adequate.
While it is hard to say what the turnout will be for the protests throughout the week, it is expected to draw a much larger crowd than the couple thousand that showed up for one day during the RNC. WGN9 reported leaders of four Muslim organizations say they’re expecting up to 100,000 demonstrators to be in Chicago. March on the DNC is predicting over 20,000 people for its protests.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling reiterated this week his department will not tolerate any violence and will quickly clamp down on any lawbreaking: "We will not allow people to come here and destroy this city."
Chicago Police have been training for months on crowd control, but the riots outside the 1968 DNC in the Windy City hangs over the whole event.
"We're not going to allow you to riot. Protesting and rioting are two different things," Snelling explained. "The moment that starts, we are going to intervene. I am not going to wait until [it's] out of control and then try to bring it back in."
While Snelling has made his stance clear, Democrats have worried behind closed doors how Mayor Brandon Johnson will react should things get out of control given his sympathies lie with protesters and is far from an ally of the police.
"There’s already a joke going around Democratic strategist circles that the main difference between 2024 and 1968 is that the Chicago mayor this year will be on the side of the protesters, not the cops," Politico reported in May. In the same story, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) predicted the National Guard will not be needed, but he is willing to deploy troops if “the city asks us to — it would be completely inappropriate to just march into a city.”
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