Chicago, Illinois, on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, at least 55 activists were detained following verbal altercations with police, according to the police chief, who described the incident as” a threat to our capital.”
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Wednesday that those arrested outside the Israeli Consulate, about 2 miles ( 3.2 kilometers ) from the United Center where Democrats were meeting,” showed up with the intention of committing acts of violence, vandalism”.
” As the Chicago Police Department, we did all that we could to de-escalate that condition”, Snelling said during a news conference. ” But there’s only so many de-escalation that you can try before it becomes excessive tedium”.
Minutes into the show, some demonstrators — some wearing black and their faces covered — charged at a line of police who had blocked their protest. They eventually passed the police, but the officers repeatedly wrote them down throughout the day while wearing riot gear and blocking activists ‘ movements.
Snelling claimed that protesters “fighted with the officers” when they showed up.
” We were not the promoters of murder, but we responded to it,” Snelling said.
Snelling said that between 55 and 60 people were arrested. According to Snelling, two people received minor injuries in the hospital, one for knee pain and the other for hand accidents. According to Snelling, two officers were hurt, but they refused medical attention because they did n’t want to leave their coworkers behind. He claimed that three reporters were being detained, but he did not provide information on the costs.
Last night was a threat to both our city and the house of our citizens in this town. And CPD has to defend that,” Snelling said.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October, the Israeli Consulate has been the webpage of various presentations, and demonstrations during the DNC have mostly focused on the opposition to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The organization behind the demonstration on Tuesday nights is not associated with a partnership of more than 200 organizations that have organized marches and demonstrations, with one scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday and two more scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Another march, organized by the U. S. Palestinian Community Network, a Arab and Muslim community-based firm, is planned for Wednesday evening near the United Center.
On Tuesday evening, organizers rallied protesters under the phrase” Make it wonderful like’ 68, “invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the area during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
” That was what they brought around to Chicago,” Snelling said”. It’s 2024. The Chicago Police Department demonstrates that. So let’s get off of 1968. This cease talking about 1968. This is 2024.”
A large percentage of the detention took place at the end of the day, when police pinned and prevented demonstrators from leaving. Snelling refuted the claim that the officers “kneedled” protesters, a technique that involves escorting people in a restricted region, which is prohibited by a federal consent decree.
Snelling, who has been present at all major presentations so much during the agreement, praised his soldiers. He claimed that some female police officers were subjected to “vile, dirty, sexually explicit” feedback but that they” stood up for what they had to complete.
I could n’t be more proud of the work that the department’s men and women are currently doing to protect this city, he said.
Snelling refuted claims that the police’s reply was overwhelming.
” We wanted to destroy them,” Snelling said”. We wanted to enslave those who made the decision to invade our town and enslave it. Now, overwhelming does n’t mean that we were excessive. The answer was commensurate.”
The largest opposition thus much, which attracted about 3, 500 people on Monday, was mostly quiet and resulted in 13 arrests, most related to a breach of security decking. Two were detained on Sunday night during a second, largely peaceful protest.
Following a conflict with officers at a diner about a mile from the United Center, a gentleman who escaped from a Mississippi court and is wanted on murder and armed assault charges was taken into custody on Wednesday. There was no evidence that he had any relation to the agreement.
