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CHICAGO — Anti-Israel protesters quickly made their presence known in the Windy City among Democratic National Committee attendees when they crashed a delegate welcome party before the convention officially started.
Demonstrators hit the streets to march beginning late Sunday in the afternoon into the evening, while waving Palestinian flags and chanting, playing music and screaming at police.
One large banner held by protesters, read, “Killer Kamala Gazas [sic] speaking.”
Video of the march posted online shows protesters made it into an official DNC welcome party at the Navy Pier, where a masked demonstrator leaped onto stage, grabbed a standing microphone and accused attendees of “funding a genocide.”
“The Harris-Biden administration keeps sending money to Israel,” the protester said before security stepped in and dragged her away as she screamed “Free Palestine!” Fellow protesters could be heard yelling “Free Palestine” from the audience.
Other demonstrators outside the event told reporters that a “week of justice” was in store for the DNC.
Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesman for the March on the DNC, told reporters at a press conference that demonstrators have little to no faith in most Democrats right now.
“You have two million displaced in a famine situation and a hunger situation. We’ve never, ever seen this in the history of the Palestinian people,” he said.
“Somebody has to stop this. If Kamala Harris isn’t going to do it and Joe Biden isn’t going to do it, and definitely [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken is not going to do it, then the people have to do it. That’s why we’re doing this,” he said.
Protests are expected throughout the week as national Democrats gather to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Protest organizers, whose groups number more than 300, say the number of demonstrators could swell as high as 100,000. They will focus on U.S. policy related to Israel, abortion access, poverty, lack of housing, racism, climate change and LGBTQ rights.
A coalition called March on the DNC 2024 will be packed in a 1.1-mile protest route close to the United Center, where the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks play on the west side of the city.
SEE ALSO: Trump gears up for week of DNC counter-programming with full schedule of campaign events
Chicago police are out in force, with their ranks swelled by as many as 500 officers from other jurisdictions who were brought in for the week.
A federal judge previously denied a motion by protest organizers to use a longer parade route that would take protesters closer to the United Center.
Mr. Abudayyeh previously said that they proposed a 2.4-mile-long route that was denied by the court, and the current route could cause bottlenecking in downtown Chicago near the convention’s venue, United Center.
“So, yes, you might have upheld the First Amendment rights of the people who get to walk in front of the building and are able to make the message known, ’Stop USA to Israel, Stop the genocide, free Palestine.’ But what about the thousands who never leave the park?” he asked.
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