Anti-Israel protesters clogged streets Thursday on the final night of the Democrat National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, police officers blocked the demonstrators from moving south on Ashland Avenue, the outlet noting that “An organizer is negotiating directly with Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling.”
Minutes later, the article was updated to say that “The March on the DNC’s police liaison said negotiations with Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling were unsuccessful and ‘we’re done.’”
However, video footage reportedly shows that the large crowd of activists arrived at Ashland to rally:
The bulk of the group got to Ashland and is rallying on Lake and Ashland right now. pic.twitter.com/TL0WSh4aR6
— Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere (@TylerLaRiviere) August 23, 2024
BreakThrough News reported that the demonstrators were still filling the streets even though their permit had apparently expired. The outlet noted law enforcement were at the scene to halt the march:
DNC UPDATE: Protesters are still occupying the streets after the protest permit has officially expired.
Cops are lined up to block protesters from continuing to march. @KeiPritsker is on the scene pic.twitter.com/5pMrucYbQL
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) August 23, 2024
Meanwhile, live video footage from Breitbart News showed anti-Israel protesters sitting in the middle of a street while officers stood in a line nearby.
“Whose streets? Our streets!” the activists shouted, adding, “Free, free Palestine!”
More video footage shows organizers instructing the crowd to move into a park area off Ashland, but some in the group do not seem to make any moves to do so:
Organizers are telling marchers to get off the street and into the park but a small group is refusing to get off Ashland pic.twitter.com/cJ8flYiLk7
— Lisa Kurian Philip (@LAPhilip) August 23, 2024
Thursday is the final night of the Democrat National Convention when Vice President Kamala Harris (D) will deliver a speech and accept her party’s nomination.
Breitbart News’s Matthew Boyle wrote Thursday:
A sense of euphoria has swept up Democrats in Harris’s first month atop the ticket, but throughout speeches and messages at the DNC top Democrats have consistently warned their party they are not in fact winning this election and have serious work to do if they really want to stop Republican nominee former President Donald Trump. In fact, Walz himself admitted Democrats were losing the election in his short speech on Wednesday, making a football analogy to say Democrats were down a field goal in the fourth quarter with the football and chance to score.
Throughout the DNC, protesters have gathered outside the event. Some called on voters to reject Harris while others crashed a DNC welcome party on Sunday. Protesters also appeared to attack a man outside the event, leaving him with an injury underneath his eye, according to Breitbart News.