Pro-Palestinian demonstrators planning large protests in Chicago at next week’s Democratic National Convention are facing a legal setback.
A federal judge ruled against a demand by the demonstrators for a larger protest route that would take them closer to Chicago’s United Center arena, site of the Democratic convention from Aug. 19-22.
U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood, in her ruling Monday night ahead of a Tuesday afternoon hearing, stated that the protest route provided by the city adheres to the First Amendment of the Constitution while also addressing significant security and safety concerns.
Chicago is designating two public parks and a 1.1 mile parade route outside the United Center’s security zone for protesters.
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However, demonstrators protesting the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel in its nearly 11-months-long war with Hamas in Gaza argued they need a larger route, which would take them closer to the convention site, to accommodate the large crowds of demonstrators they are expecting next week.
The Coalition to March on the D.N.C., an umbrella group of organizations on the left that is helping to organize the planned protests, said in a social media posting on Sunday that Democratic Party officials “underestimate our rage, our tenacity, and our steadfast commitment to the precious life of every Palestinian person enduring this horrific genocide. We’re fighting back.”
Additionally, at a news conference in Chicago on Monday hosted by the Council on American Islamic Relations and allied groups, organizers predicted that “the streets will be flooded with thousands of peaceful protesters from all over the country to condemn the horrifying scenes that have come out of Gaza, which have all been funded and supported by our American government. The people’s voices will be clear and unified.”
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Demonstrators also suffered courtroom setbacks ahead of last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, as they pushed for closer access to the Fiserv Arena, where the confab was held. Protesters ended up making only a minor splash during the four-day convention.
Democratic Party officials are hoping to avoid any type of repeat of their 1968 convention in Chicago, when scenes of fighting among delegates and clouds of tear gas and police batons used to smash protests as divided Democrats brawled over the Vietnam War.
While Democrats are divided over the U.S. response to the soaring death toll among Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war, political pundits say comparisons to the 1968 chaos are not justifiable.
While there will likely be scenes of anger and dissent outside the security zone amid the expected pro-Palestinian protests, a mostly unified and now energized Democratic Party will meet inside the United Center.
The biggest names in the Democratic Party will be center stage at the convention. Fox News confirmed that President Biden, former Presidents Obama and Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have been confirmed as speakers.
The Democrats’ convention comes nearly a month after the president’s blockbuster July 21 announcement that he was suspending his re-election bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris following his disastrous performance against former President Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, in their late June debate.
Biden’s rambling and uneven answers at the debate fueled questions over whether the 81-year-old president had the physical and mental abilities to handle another four years in the White House and sparked a chorus of calls from within his own party to end his 2024 campaign.
Democrats desperate to keep Trump from returning to the White House quickly coalesced around Harris, who last week was formally nominated by the party in a virtual roll call.
Harris has enjoyed a surge in fundraising after replacing Biden three weeks ago atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, and her July haul was more than double the funds raised last month by Trump. Additionally, Harris saw another spike in fundraising after naming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate a week ago.
The vice president and Walz quickly hit the campaign trail with a swing through the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada that drew large crowds at every stop.
Even though both Harris and Walz have been officially nominated, convention organizers say there will be ceremonial roll calls next week in Chicago. The vice president and the Minnesota governor will both address the convention in nationally televised speeches next Wednesday and Thursday.
