Despite breach of security perimeter, protesters mostly peaceful as DNC kicks off

The protesters who hit Chicago’s streets during the Democratic National Convention’s first 24 hours have been lively, passionate and mostly peaceful — and so far defied fears that the city would relive violence etched in so many memories since 1968.Not only that, but few complaints surfaced about Chicago police officers, despite the department’s long and troubled history with city residents, and protest groups in particular.Rather, many months of planning by both sides appear to have allowed people to strongly advocate for their causes, whether it be the war in Gaza, caring for the poor and unhoused, or reproductive or LGBTQ+ rights. But the convention is far from over, and the city isn’t out of the woods yet.In fact, one hold-your-breath moment Monday produced jarring images of police lining the streets outside the United Center, where President Joe Biden was getting ready to speak. Dozens of people breached an outer security perimeter, prompting a tense standoff with police. Reporters witnessed multiple people being detained by police, but a CPD spokesperson couldn’t say how many people were arrested. Chicago’s largest police union said two officers were injured.The incident lasted about 30 minutes, and the inner-perimeter around the United Center was never breached. Police Supt. Larry Snelling stressed that he did not connect the intruders with the larger group marching near the arena.“What I’m not going to do is associate the group that stayed behind and breached the fence with their planned protest,” Snelling said. “There were peaceful people in the crowd. There were people who just wanted to have their voices heard. But again, when you have people who infiltrate a crowd and they want to commit acts of violence [and] vandalism, we’re going to stop them.”The police superintendent made similar comments about one of two people charged with misdemeanors amid a protest march Sunday. It suggests an effort by the top cop to publicly distinguish between protest organizers and agitators.Snelling has also been a regular presence in the streets since Sunday night, echoing the role played by former Supt. Garry McCarthy during the 2012 NATO summit, another national special security event held here.Chicago’s biggest test so far this week came when the high-profile March on the DNC began its rally in Union Park to protest the war in Gaza. Thousands of people chanted, waved flags, carried signs and listened for nearly three hours to speakers, including Cornel West.West, an academic and activist running as a third-party candidate for president, walked through Union Park surrounded by demonstrators as he made his way toward the stage.“The people’s voices from below are not being heard,” said West, as he insisted the United States’ support for Israel is unjust.Omar Younis, co-founder of an Arab and Palestinian youth organizing group known as Jisoor, told reporters the protesters were troubled by “the legacy of U.S. military aid that has long supported Israel’s brutal subjugation of Palestinians.”The rally served as a prelude to a march that had been the subject of months of litigation in federal court. Its organizers asked a judge to intervene over the route approved by the city, arguing it would be problematic based on the size of the crowd.When the judge did not force the city to alter the route, organizers tried to negotiate with City Hall. It wasn’t entirely clear, even as the march began, whether the crowd would stick to the path. But they did, filling the streets from curb-to-curb.All remained peaceful until shortly before 5 p.m., when people broke through part of the security perimeter fence near the United Center.Police officers were soon seen carrying batons and wearing gas masks and riot gear.Chicago Sun-Times reporters spotted five gaps in the security fence. Dozens of people had breached it — including members of the media. But officers ultimately converged toward the intruders from two directions, squeezing them back out of the perimeter. Some people fell, including a TV camera operator.The people who breached the fence were not among the organizers of the march. Rather, they had earlier tried to lead demonstrators off of the approved march route, toward the United Center.Chicago police put security fencing back in place after a brief confrontation with protesters who broke through one part of the security perimeter near the United Center Monday afternoon.Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-TimesProtest marshals working with the March on the DNC urged the crowds to stay on the approved route, and they did.Later Monday, when demonstrators returned to Union Park, police issued two dispersal orders after some people began setting up a tent encampment. The tension was soon dissipated, and the crowds eventually left peacefully. But that was not the only protest to hit the streets Monday. A few dozen protesters with the Poor People’s Army gathered at Humboldt Park, just beyond one of the neighborhood’s towering Puerto Rican flags, for their own demonstration.The group called on Democratic delegates to invest more dollars in the fight against homelessness, and to end the war in Gaza.One of their leaders, Cheri Honkala, was arrested near the United Center. She had tried to serve the DNC with a “citizen’s arrest warrant.” A video of the incident showed her crossing through police tape along a security fence and trying to walk past officers guarding a perimeter, who eventually took her into custody.Some members of the group had marched from Milwaukee to Chicago to participate in the protest.It took them 13 days to cross 91 miles.Lisa Richards was among the dozen or so who made the trek. She lives in Massachusetts, but she drove her van with two of her children to Milwaukee to participate in the march.“For us, in my family, it’s part of our belief system. We believe in standing up for human rights and equality,” she said, explaining what drove her to make the trip to Chicago.She had a simple message for the politicians in town for the convention: “We can do so much better for our children, for our vets, for our elderly, for the disabled, for the general population. People should not have to work two [or] three jobs, live in multi-generational housing because they can’t afford anything else.”The group rallied for over an hour, enjoying live music, Lou Malnati’s pizza and speakers who included Green Party Candidate Jill Stein. The protesters then marched toward the United Center in a slow steady stream, stopping occasionally to hear from more speakers.“From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever,” they chanted.Contributing: Matthew Hendrickson and Andy Grimm