At the same time, many thousands of far-left activists are expected to travel to Chicago, planning to hold protests during the convention to draw attention to issues such as economic inequality, abortion and the war in the Gaza Strip.
Despite the fact that the Democrats agreed to nominate Harris, who herself came from the left wing of the party, for the post of president, far-left activists said that they have not abandoned their original plan to hold a protest during the convention in order to force the top leadership of the Democrats to focus on the so-called progressive agenda.
While these activists have different priorities, from curbing climate change to racial equality, most of them are united in their demand for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Today’s extreme leftists try to claim that Israel’s war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, launched after the October 5 massacre in Israel by terrorists, is their generation’s Vietnam War.
Chicago and the surrounding area are home to one of the largest Palestinian immigrant communities in the United States, but organizers of the protests plan to bring left-wing extremists from across the country on buses to Chicago.
Organizers estimate that at least 20,000 people will take part in Monday’s demonstration.
“We must contribute to the fight to stop the genocide, to end US support for Israel and to stand on the side of the Palestinians,” said Hatem Abudayeh, representative of the March to the DNC coalition.
Several hundred organizations, including students, have joined the coalition.
The first demonstration took place already on Sunday evening, and its participants demanded the right to abortion, stood up for the rights of sexual minorities, or the so-called LGBTQ+ community, and demanded a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
The demonstration lasted four hours, but no serious conflicts broke out during it.
However, there are fears that the protests could spiral out of control and turn into riots. The 1968 Democratic Party convention is cited as an example, during which protests by opponents of the Vietnam War turned into violent clashes with the police, which could be watched live on television.
Some businesses in Chicago have already covered storefronts with board shields as a precaution, but the courts have said they have prepared additional rooms in case mass arrests begin.
The Chicago police, on the other hand, have announced that their officers have been given courses in constitutional law and de-escalation tactics.
The organizers of the demonstrations have not been able to agree with the city on the place of the protest and claim that the route of the march, which is approximately one and a half kilometers long, is insufficient for the expected number of participants.
Although the court found the city’s arguments to be valid, Abudayeh said that the coalition will continue to fight for the extension of the route until the beginning of Monday’s demonstration.
Also scheduled for Monday is a protest by the Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army in Humboldt Park in northwest Chicago, featuring Green presidential candidate Jill Stein and far-left activist Cornel West, who is running as an independent. After the rally, a five-kilometer march is planned.
At the same time, the city has set up a free stage next to the venue of the convention, where 45 minutes will be allocated to each pre-registered orator. While most of the organizations that have signed up for speakers espouse the same “progressive” ideas, the list also includes the Israel-American Council and the conservative-leaning Illinois Institute of Politics. Local firefighters also hope to draw attention to their fight over collective bargaining agreements with the city in this way.
“The first one [konstitūcijas] amendment is the foundation of our democracy,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, himself a former union activist, told the AP last week. “I will do everything in my power to protect the right to assemble, to protest.”
2024-08-20 06:16:00