By CHICAGO — Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, challenging the Biden administration’s position on the Israel-Gaza conflict as the event opens.
The March on the DNC, an umbrella group comprising more than 200 organizations, plans a one-mile march near the convention arena hours before President Joe Biden is scheduled to address delegates. The Democratic gathering will officially nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential candidate.
Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesman for March on the DNC, told The Associated Press that organizers are negotiating with authorities to extend the march route to accommodate the large number of expected participants.
“We expect tens of thousands of marchers at the 1 p.m. CDT event,” Abudayyeh said Monday morning. He added that the group has its own security and does not anticipate violence from protesters amid the heavy police and U.S. Secret Service presence around the security perimeter.
Protesters are calling on police to respect their free speech rights. “That’s their only responsibility. We don’t need them to keep us safe. We don’t need them to protect us, just not to infringe on our rights,” Abudayyeh stated.
The protests target the Biden administration’s military and financial support for Israel during its war against Hamas. According to Gaza health officials, the conflict has resulted in more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive following the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel.
Organizers told Reuters last week that many protesters would be coming from Palestinian and Arab communities in Illinois and neighboring states. The coalition also includes groups advocating for various causes, including reproductive rights and racial justice.
On Sunday night, approximately 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through downtown Chicago, chanting “Shut down the DNC.”
“The Democrats are the ones in power,” Abudayyeh said. “It’s their war. They’re responsible for it, they’re complicit, and they can stop it.”
Another large protest is scheduled for Thursday when Vice President Harris is expected to accept the nomination.
These demonstrations follow a series of pro-Palestinian protests that swelled on U.S. college campuses last spring, leading to police clearing student encampments, sometimes after confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters.
As the Democratic National Convention begins, the protests highlight the ongoing tension between the Biden administration’s foreign policy and a significant portion of the party’s base concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Local authorities and convention organizers are preparing for the protests, balancing security concerns with the right to free speech as the political event unfolds in Chicago.
