DNC: What to know about pro-Palestinian protests

More than 3,000 law enforcement officers will police inside and outside the United Center

A pro-Palestinian protest near the U.S. Capitol July 24. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

By Lauren Markoe August 13, 2024

Organizers say Chicago should expect as many as 25,000 protesters “within sight and sound” of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center next week, demanding an end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and U.S. aid to Israel.

City and party officials want to avoid a repeat of the 1968 DNC in Chicago, remembered for its bloody clashes between police and protesters against the Vietnam War.

Here’s what you need to know about the protests, which center around two large marches planned for midday Monday, the first day of the four-day convention, and late afternoon Thursday.

Who are the protesters?

Protestors chant near the Fiserv Forum during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee July 15. Photo by Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

An umbrella organization — the Coalition to March on the DNC — composed of more than 150 groups is orchestrating the rallies and marches. The coalition includes groups focused on Palestinian rights, and others which have taken up the cause. Among those in the coalition: the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago, Black Lives Matter Chicago, the US Palestinians Community Network and Code Pink.

Many members of the coalition protested at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month, though in numbers much smaller than those expected in Chicago. The coalition estimated 3,000 to 4,000 protesters then. Police estimated less than 800, with some organizers expressing disappointment with the turnout.

But protesters are likely to come out in much greater numbers in Chicago, given that many within the Democratic party have expressed frustration with President Joe Biden’s strong support for Israel. More than 700,000 voters cast a ballot for “Uncommitted” or “No preference” in the Democratic primaries, encouraged by a movement to express dissatisfaction with Biden’s approach to the war.

Those Uncommitted voters will be represented by 30 delegates at the DNC, out of a total of more than 4,000 delegates. At least one has said he will throw his support to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president. The other delegates say they want to support Harris, who is Black and would be the first woman president, but are waiting for a signal from her and the party that it will meet at least some of their demands.

Uncommitted leaders said Harris, in a brief conversation with them last week, said she responded favorably when asked to meet with them to discuss an arms embargo of Israel — but that this discussion has not yet happened. And since then a spokesperson for Harris has said she is opposed to an embargo.

.@VP has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.

— Phil Gordon (@PhilGordon46) August 8, 2024

Where will the protests be?

The largest demonstrations will begin with rallies at Union Park in Chicago’s Near West Side followed by a march in a 1.4 mile loop, which at no point will get within a block of the United Center, and at most points will be two or more blocks away.

The march route approved by a federal district court judge on Tuesday. The United Center is the oval at the center of the security perimeter, shown in brown. Courtesy of U.S. District Court

The march coalition took the city to court, arguing for a 2-mile march that would take protesters onto larger streets. But on Tuesday a U.S. district court judge ruled that the route approved by the city fairly balanced the protesters’ First Amendment rights with the city’s security concerns.

What do the protesters want?

In general, they want the embargo of U.S. aid to Israel, an immediate ceasefire and a shift in the party’s platform away from support for Israel and toward Palestinians.

The coalition describes a “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza, a charge Israel and the U.S. refute, and calls the Democratic party co-opted. “We recognize the Democratic Party as a tool of billionaires and corporations,” its website states.

How is law enforcement preparing for the protests?

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling at a briefing Tuesday said his officers have been preparing for more than a year for the convention. About 2,500 will be assigned to the DNC, assisted by about 500 officers from other Illinois cities and towns and Milwaukee.

“We want to make sure that everyone coming to the city of Chicago, all of our residents, everyone who is participating, are safe,” he said.

Chicago police will be responsible for security outside the convention center. The U.S. Secret Service will oversee security inside.

The security perimeter surrounding the convention center will be ringed by fencing eight and 10 feet high that is “non-scalable, and designed not to move or flex,” according to news reports.

Are protests for other causes planned for the DNC?

Another coalition, which calls itself Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, plans a protest on Michigan Avenue for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights on Sunday, the day before the convention begins.

On Monday, The Poor People’s Army, a Philadelphia group that says it is looking non-violently to “build a cooperative economy and society,” will march from Humboldt Park to the United Center.

Lauren Markoe is news editor of the Forward. A Bronx native, she reported for The Patriot Ledger, several McClatchy newspapers in the South, and Religion News Service, where she was also managing editor. She also produced live radio shows at WAMU in Washington, D.C., where she lives.

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