Fourth day of DNC demonstrations underway: 'We just want a peaceful protest'

A fourth day of protesting outside the Democratic National Convention began peacefully Wednesday afternoon, even though the latest group to march against the war in Gaza chose to do so without a permit.

The Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine planned a parade from Union Park to the United Center, where the DNC was underway. Among those set to speak in the arena are former President Bill Clinton and vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz.

The demonstration follows Tuesday’s violent clash in the West Loop between protesters and Chicago police officers, which led to 59 arrests.

However, the group involved in Tuesday’s violence was not affiliated with the coalition that planned Wednesday’s event. Rather, the organizers of Wednesday’s demonstration are familiar with Chicago police.

The group has held dozens of protests against the war in Gaza since October.

Four young men wearing black and white keffiyeh scarves actually approached a Chicago police commander at the edge of the park Wednesday to discuss how and why they set up a perimeter and why they were there.

“We approached him and he was friendly,” said one of the young men, who would not give their names. “We just want a peaceful protest and we know they have jobs to do.”

Palestinian flags and kuffiyehs flowed in the wind as chants ripped through the crowd. The protest was meant to be “family-friendly” and several parents brought their small children, who held miniature Palestinian flags and clapped along to chants.

A 26-year-old Palestinian-American protester painted a mask with the Palestinian flag to catch people’s attention.

“It was just a good way to express everything about Palestine,” said the organizer, who didn’t give his name for fear of being targeted online. “It’s art, you know? When people see art, it catches their eye.”

The Jefferson Park resident said his dad started bringing him to pro-Palestinian protests in 2008 when he was just 10 years old.

“It didn’t start on Oct. 7th and people are just now starting to get it,” he said. “It needs all the exposure it can get. It’s all I can do for my people who are getting killed.”

Riverside resident Sara Vacek thought it was important to draw a connection between the push for reproductive rights in the Democratic Party and the atrocities faced by pregnant people in Gaza.

“Women in Gaza, they have no prenatal care, no postnatal care,” Vacek said. “It’s not acceptable for Vice President [Kamala] Harris to be preaching about reproductive rights and abandoning women’s rights in Gaza.”

While marching down Washington Street near where delegates gathered at the United Center, Vacek held a sign that read “Wanna talk about reproductive rights?” on one side and “Tent scraps for menstrual pads, C-sections w/o anesthesia, mothers eating birdseed” on the other.

A police helicopter buzzed over the rally, and Chicago police stood nearby but kept their distance. Police Supt. Larry Snelling appeared on the front lines, as he has since demonstrations began Sunday night.

During a press conference earlier Wednesday, Snelling was asked about allowing unpermitted marches to go forward. Snelling said police officials would assess unpermitted events “as they happen,” like they did on Tuesday night.

“People have the right to assemble,” he said. “However, we are going to control the situations. When we get there, we’ll make an assessment of what’s happening, and if we know we need to take action, we’ll take action.”

Organizers said they would follow the same route as a march held Monday, starting west on Washington Boulevard. The march began with no resistance from Chicago police.

The crowd chanted “end the siege on Gaza now” and “no peace on stolen land.”

Contributing: David Struett