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Protesters have broken through a fence set up by police at the site of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on its opening day in Chicago as thousands took to the streets to voice their opposition to the war in Gaza.
Footage posted online showed a few dozen people breaking away from a larger march, and taking down pieces of the erected security fence. Police later confirmed that multiple people had been arrested.
The protests happened on Monday, ahead of an address by President Joe Biden, who has previously been the target of intense criticism from pro-Palestinian groups.
“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, closing the convention with remarks on Thursday.
Activists said they were ready to amplify their progressive message before the nation’s top Democratic leaders.
“We have to play our part in the belly of the beast to stop the genocide, to end US aid to Israel and stand with Palestine,” said Hatem Abudayyeh,spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC, which includes hundreds of organizations.
The heavy police presence at the march included Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, who walked in a group of officers ahead of the protesters on Monday.
Snelling later told reporters that the force would “not tolerate” those commiting acts of violence. “They breached the fence, they were trying to get to the inner perimeter, officers responded swiftly to make sure that didn’t happen,” he said. “Our job is to make sure the DNC stays safe.
“We have no idea what they would have done if they would have gone if they had gotten onto the other side but as I said before we are not tolerate anyone who is going to vandalize things in our city.
“We are not going to tolerate anyone who is going to commit acts of violence and we will act swiftly on that, as you saw today. Our officers acted professionally, and it was a great job.”
Snelling confirmed that multiple people were arrested but did not provide an exact number. He added that he was “not going to associate this with the march as a whole.”
A statement put out by Chicago police read: “Demonstrators breached a portion of anti-scale fencing along the Democratic National Convention's outer perimeter near the United Center on Aug. 19. Law enforcement personnel were immediately on-scene and contained the situation.
“At no point was the inner perimeter breached, and there was no threat to any protectees.”
It added: “The National Special Security Event plan employs a multi-layered approach. Each NSSE plan is unique and includes multiple layers. One of these redundancies include the outer perimeter fence, which was erected to prevent entry into the inner perimeter.
“The Chicago Police Department remains on-scene and is working to clear the area.”
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 when the march began, though city officials declined to give a crowd estimate.
The Chicago area has one of the largest Palestinian communities in the nation, and buses were bringing activists from all over the country, according to The Associated Press.
Taylor Cook, an organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, traveled from Atlanta for the march. Cook told the AP that 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 DC, 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 told the AP ahead of the rally in Union Park. “We’re so disgusted by this.”
Another large protest is scheduled for Thursday, when Ms Harris is expected to accept the nomination.
Pro-Palestinian supporters have for months protested the Biden administration’s military and financial support for Israel during its war against Hamas, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials.
Israel launched the offensive after it was attacked on October 7 by Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people, according to Israel tallies.
