Protesters plan large marches and rallies as Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — Crowds of activists began gathering Monday in Chicago for protests outside the Democratic National Convention, hoping to call attention to issues such as economic injustice, reproductive rights and the war in Gaza.

Protesters say their plans have not changed since President Joe Biden left the race and the party quickly rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the Democratic nomination this week. Activists are ready to amplify their progressive message before the nation’s top Democratic leaders.

Chicago leaders said they were committed to keeping the protests peaceful.

“The city of Chicago is really good at things like this,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a news conference. “We are ready.”

Police Superintendent Larry Snelling praised police and march organizers for a peaceful Sunday night protest that he said went off without any problems. He said officers stood ready to ensure the demonstrations stay peaceful throughout the week.

“Listen, it’s this simple. The Chicago Police Department is here to protect everyone in this city,” Snelling said. “What we will not tolerate is intimidation. We we will not tolerate violence.”

Protester issues include climate change, abortion rights and racial equality, to name a few, but many agree that pressing for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war is the top message of the demonstrations. They have likened it to the Vietnam War of their generation.

The Chicago area has one of the largest Palestinian communities in the nation, and buses are bringing activists from all over the country. Organizers say they hope the turnout for Monday’s march and rally, on the first day of the convention, will be at least 20,000 people.

“We have to play our part in the belly of the beast to stop the genocide, to end U.S. aid to Israel and stand with Palestine,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC.

The coalition is made up of hundreds of organizations, including students. Activists say they learned lessons from last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. They expect bigger crowds and more robust demonstrations in Chicago.

Pro-Palestinian supporters from across the nation descended Monday morning on Union Park, west of the Loop business district, in anticipation of a rally and march to a site near the United Center, where the convention is taking place.

Taylor Cook, an organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, traveled from Atlanta for the march. Cook said 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.”

A lone counter-protester stood with an American flag as pro-Palestinian groups outlined plans for an afternoon march. Shawn Campbell, 29, from Plano, Illinois, held the flag while wearing a U.S. Army hat. He said he planned to attend several pro-Palestinian events this week.

The first protest on Sunday night brought together activists calling for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and an end to the war in Gaza. Chicago police said two people were arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting police and damaging property.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who was under consideration as Harris’ running mate, said peaceful protests were welcome.

“There are a lot of people who are inside the hall who will believe in some of those messages and carry that with them,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “But importantly, the Democratic Party doesn’t shut people out and disallow them from expressing their First Amendment rights.”

But some have lingering safety concerns, worried that protests could become unpredictable or devolve into chaos.

Chicago, which has hosted more political conventions than any other U.S. city, has been unable to escape comparisons to the infamous 1968 convention where police and anti-Vietnam War protesters violently clashed on live television.

Some businesses boarded up their windows as a precaution, and county courts said they would open more space in case of mass arrests. Chicago police say officers have undergone extensive training on constitutional policing and de-escalation tactics.

Coalition activists and the city have been at odds over the location of the protests and other logistics. A judge sided with the city over an approximately 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) march route, which organizers argue isn’t big enough for the expected crowds. Abudayyeh said the coalition would continue to push for a much longer route until the march started on Monday.

Also Monday, the Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army, which advocates for economic justice, plans to set up at Humboldt Park on the northwest side of Chicago and will feature events with third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West, plus a 3-mile (5-kilometer) march.

Aside from the protests, the city is also hosting a speakers’ stage at a park outside the convention center with 45-minute time slots. Most of the organizations that have signed up have the same progressive agenda as the coalition, but the list also includes the Israeli American Council and the conservative-leaning Illinois Policy Institute. A local firefighters union is also hoping to call attention to their contract fight with the city.

“The First Amendment is fundamental to our democracy,” Johnson, a former union organizer, told the AP in an interview last week. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect the right to assemble in protest.”

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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Lea Skene contributed to this report.