CHICAGO (AP) — Multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested Tuesday after clashing with police during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spilled out onto the surrounding streets on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
The intense confrontations with officers began minutes into the demonstration, after some protesters — many dressed in black, their faces covered — charged at a line of police that had blocked the group from marching. They eventually moved past the officers, but were penned in several times throughout the night by police in riot gear who did not allow protesters to disperse.
The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which provided legal observers for Tuesday’s protests, said at least 72 people were arrested.
A large portion of the arrests happened at the end of the night, as police pinned the remaining demonstrators — some of whom said they were trying to get home — in a plaza and blocked them from leaving. Police Superintendent Larry Snelling denied that police had “kettled” protesters, a tactic that involves corralling demonstrators in a confined area, which is banned under a federal consent decree.
Snelling, who has been present at all major demonstrations during the convention, praised his officers’ handling of the protests, calling the response proportional.
“We have people who showed up here to commit acts of violence,” he told reporters late Tuesday. “They wanted chaos.”
When asked to detail the violent acts, he said the demonstrators walked right into police officers. He declined to give the number of arrests, saying he did not have a final total.
Earlier in the evening, some demonstrators set an American flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place inside the United Center about 2 miles away.
INSIDE the convention center, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages that were at times both hopeful and ominous.
“America, hope is making a comeback,” the former first lady declared. She then tore into Republican Donald Trump, a sharp shift from the 2016 convention speech in which she told her party, “When they go low, we go high.”
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” Michelle Obama said of Trump.
Barack Obama, the first Black president in U.S. history, insisted the nation is ready to elect Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage and would be the nation’s first female president. He also called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”
“It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” he said.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who would become the nation’s first gentleman if his wife wins the presidency, shared details about his relationship with the vice president — their cooking habits, their first date and her laugh, which is often mocked by Republican critics.
“You know that laugh. I love that laugh!” Emhoff said as the crowd cheered. Later, he added, “Her empathy is her strength.”
