Protesters breach fence line near United Center on 1st day of DNC; at least 4 arrested
Protests come after march in Loop Sunday
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Protesters breached an outer fence line on the north side of the United Center on Monday evening as the first day of the Democratic National Convention got underway.
The incursion was swift and unexpected with whole sections of snap-together iron fencing taken down, and in some cases, dragged away by so-called protesters.
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With holes in the outer perimeter, dozens of intruders were one security layer closer to the actual United Center, even before the gavel fell on first-day proceedings.
Within minutes, Chicago police broke out the riot gear and swarmed the frenzied scene, Secret Service officials paused delegate buses to the United Center, and Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling rushed to site to back up his officers-speaking live with the ABC7 I-Team.
"What's the plan to prevent this from happening again?" asked ABC7 Investigative Reporter Chuck Goudie.
"That's something that we're going to have to assess," Snelling said.
"To assess that the fencing is sufficient?" Goudie said.
"That's an assessment we're going to make once we clear everything," Snelling said.
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Backed up by U.S. Capitol police, the January 6th agency, CPD officers wrestled gate crashers to the pavement.
At least four people were taken into custody as police formed a barricade to block the breached fencing on the south end of Park 578 in the 1900-block of West Washington Street.
The inner perimeter was not breached, and there was no threat to anyone inside, the DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center said in a statement.
"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 statement said.
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Some outside agitators were stopped by CPD before the breach, and pro-Israeli protesters could be seen, as well.
After the fence was patched up, even more police riot teams cleared the adjacent Park 578. Snelling praised the training and restraint of officers, saying some of his officers were pepper-sprayed, and all reacted calmly.
"Our officers did not respond with any type of chemicals. We didn't respond with batons. Our officers responded with their hands the way that they were trained to do. If things had escalated to that point, and we would have to use what we had to use, but we use the least amount of force to take these certain individuals into custody and our officers," Snelling said.
CPD remained on the scene, clearing the area just after 6 p.m.
Gov. JB Pritzker spoke to CNN about the breach, saying "it was brief."
"The police actually stepped in and did a great job; the superintendent of police came and backed up his own men. And, frankly, that's the way it's gonna be. Obviously, we've got people wo are concerned about the war in the Middle East, and they're going to express themselves. And we're going to protect their right to express themselves, but we're not going to stand for any mayhem," he said.
Those responsible for the breach came from Union Park, where thousands of protesters gathered for one of the larger planned demonstrations.
"I got no problem with escalation, I got no problem with disruption, the problem I got is when you do it in context of a different kind of an event," said organizer Hatem Abudayyeh.
The group planned to march for roughly 1 mile. The demonstration got underway after two people were arrested Sunday at the first DNC protest in the Loop.
Monday's predominantly peaceful march appeared larger than Sunday's protest as demonstrators marched down narrow streets, causing some congestion.
The group was comprised of more than 200 organizations, and represented a host of issues, one of which called for an end to the Israel-Hamas War and U.S. aid to Israel.
"People come together, and it doesn't have to mean you are from Palestine, or Palestinian to stand up for what is right today," one protester said.
The coalition's other demands include money for jobs, school, healthcare, housing, immigration rights, LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights.
The pro-Palestinian protesters are demanding a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
"Make no mistake, Joe Biden can turn off that tap of funding immediately," said Hatem Abudayyeh with the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. "He could've done back in October. The fact that he did it means he supports this genocide, that he has the blood of 40,000 Palestinians on his hands and that he and Kamala Harris and Antony Blinken, and Jeffries, and Schumer, and Pelosi, and Schakowsky, and Durbin and all the top Democrats are complicit."
They are not pleased with how the White House has handled the war in Gaza, and say Vice President Kamala Harris still has some work to do to earn their vote.
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"I am a mother of a 4-year-old, and ever since I saw my first video ever of a 4-year-old being murdered on my screen, I've been sick about it," Michelle Carpenter said. "I think the message is just, 'this has to stop.'"
Those joining the cause came from all over the country, some from around the world.
"This violence against children, unarmed children, unarmed women, unarmed people deserves to end, and my question to people will be: Why does this exclusion for Palestinian people even exist? Don't they have the right to live in peace?" Kamil Khan said. "People coming together is energizing, and it says you don't need to be Muslim. You don't need to be Palestinian to come together."
Demonstrators said they wanted to bring their agenda within sight and sound of the Democratic Party leadership.
The protesters' stage and sound system equipment was bused in early Monday morning. They began marching in the afternoon hours from Union Park to Park 578.
But that was not the only march happening Monday.
A group of about 200 protesters marched from Humboldt Park to Park 578, and it was a much different situation than the tense moments during the perimeter breach.
Hundreds of officers were in the area as demonstrators exercised their right to speech peacefully.
Many protesters there marched to bring their voices to Democrats and put action behind rhetoric of helping the unhoused and those in extreme poverty. Others spoke out against the war in Gaza.
ABC7's Mark Rivera talked with Snelling near the end of the protest and saw him first-hand call off dozens of riot officers at a standoff with peaceful protesters of the Poor People's Army at Park 578.
"I don't want to equate every protester in the city with what happened with the fencing. Thousands are peacefully expressing their voice," Snelling said.
After calling the Democratic Party guilty of crimes against humanity, the longstanding protest organization marched along a contested route to raise their voice.
"We intend to march to the convention center to lift up our voice around some very important crucial issues," said Poor People's Army leader Cheri Honkala.
After a fight with the city, the advocacy group for the unhoused and extremely poor was allowed to march from Humboldt Park, but there was disagreement over how far the protesters would be allowed to go in their effort to bring their message to Democratic leaders at the convention. Honkala vowed to march all the way to the United Center gates.
"We are still going to present a citizen's arrest for crimes against humanity," Honkala said.
They never got there. Instead, bike police blockades diverted the group to the park just north of the United Center. Hundreds called for an end to homelessness and extreme poverty.
"We can't breathe when we have poor people who are put outside of their homes, who don't have resources, who don't have access to healthcare or anything like that. I can't breathe because of that," Minister Caliph Muab-El said.
Green Party candidate for president Jill Stein joined the protest Monday afternoon.
"Are they talking about the crisis of homelessness? Are they talking about the right of every person to a secure home as a human right?" Stein said.
Day one of DNC ended with the majority of protesters expressing their voice peacefully.
The 2024 Democratic Convention is in Chicago from Monday, Aug. 19 to Thursday, Aug. 22 at the United Center and McCormick Place.
