By With the Democratic National Convention set to kick off in Chicago on Monday, the city is bracing for the residents of the Windy City are getting nervous.
USA Today writes, “The city’s 12,000 police officers say they’re ready. The Secret Service says it’s ready. Local leaders say they’re ready. Residents? Maybe not so much.
An estimated 50,000 delegates, politicians and party activists are expected to attend this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, with possibly tens of thousands of demonstrators marching through the streets.
Fences, barricades and parked snow plows have already limited movement in key downtown areas, with helicopters buzzing overhead….The convention is happening amid the war in Gaza, and follows the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and mass-transit sabotage during the Paris Olympics. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to formally accept the party’s nomination on Thursday.
In preparing for the convention, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has stood with Chicago police saying the city will not tolerate any chaos from protesters. Johnson, a former organizer for the city’s teachers union, rode into office on a wave of support from the very activists planning to protest the convention. Some top union officials have continued marching with the same groups planning to protest Democratic leaders.”
Democrats have done everything they can to prevent mass chaos at their convention. Kamala Harris went so far as allegedly not choosing the obvious pick for vice president—the popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro—hoping that not having a Jewish running mate would quell the appetite of anti-Israel, and potential antisemitic, protests in Chicago this week.
Tim Walz, Kamala’s pick, has taken such a radical stance on the Middle East that he gave taxpayer funds to a radical imam.
It didn’t work. Earlier in the month, Harris was heckled by pro-Hamas protesters in Michigan, causing her first stumble off of her script since gaining the nomination.
🚨 Kamala Harris SNAPS on Pro-Palestine protesters accusing her of supporting Genocide in Gaza: “You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 8, 2024
Angrily telling the protesters, “I am speaking,” has only infuriated the anti-Israel segment of the Democratic Party. For the activists organizing around the convention, any hesitation about being disruptive quickly faded after Harris directly confronted protesters during a rally in Michigan on her battleground state tour with her new vice-presidential running mate, writes Politico.
Now, they’re ready to double down.
The main organization corralling more than 200 groups to protest at the convention, March on the DNC 2024, met for about half an hour the day Harris announced her candidacy. The meeting was to consider whether to move forward with the same confrontational approach they had aimed at President Joe Biden, who they dubbed “Genocide Joe” for his policies on Israel.
Harris, despite being part of the Biden administration, was seen by some as being more sympathetic to the pro-Palestinian cause and made a forceful case for a cease-fire deal after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netantyahu.
“We all came to a consensus that it’s not going to make a difference, that [Harris] represents this administration,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. “We’re going to stay full steam ahead.”
And he noted, his organization referred to Harris as “Killer Kamala” even before she topped the ticket and continues to push for harsher restrictions on the Israeli government, like an arms embargo — something that a top Harris adviser has said she doesn’t support.
At least six major protests are scheduled to take place on the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, the outlet reported. The largest demonstration is expected on the convention’s opening day, Monday, with “tens of thousands” anticipated to march just blocks away from the United Center, where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will deliver their acceptance speeches.
The “family-friendly march” is being organized by a pro-Palestinian umbrella coalition, which includes groups focused on various causes. Organizers are bringing in protesters from Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin, with additional activists traveling from New York and California.
The New York Post reported that nearly 100,000 protesters are expected in Chicago this week.
The outlet noted that “former New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin accused Harris of trying to earn support ‘of the rapidly expanding number of pro-Hamas activists’ and predicted Jewish-Americans would be among the biggest losers if she wins the presidency.
‘Here’s the thing with these [pro-Hamas] lunatics,’ Zeldin said. ‘If you feed their hate, they only get emboldened to triple down.
‘There’s a 100% chance that they continue to expose their own ugliness during the DNC. It’s a lose-lose for Jewish Americans who should be terrified of what a Kamala Harris administration would look like.’”
The threat of protests at DNC 2024 hung over Chicago since the October 7 attacks against Israel, along with Israel’s response, saw massive anti-semitic protests go unchecked for months on America’s college campuses hit the mainstream.
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