A small group of protesters breached a metal security fence outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday and briefly clashed with police after entering a no-man's-land area behind another fence surrounding the United Center. Several protesters were arrested.
The breach occurred late in the afternoon as thousands of activists protesting the Biden-Harris administration's policy on the war between Israel and Hamas ended their march in a park a block from the main entrance to the United Center.
The incident was a rare moment of conflict during a day of passionate but largely peaceful protests on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
Before the televised program began and Democratic speakers took the stage, a faction of protesters wearing masks and ski masks broke away from the main group and breached the security perimeter fence.
“Whose streets?” they chanted. “Our streets!”
Police officers, some wearing riot helmets and carrying batons, quickly entered the area. As protesters linked arms, some threw wooden signs at police as officers pushed the crowd back outside the fence and began arresting some protesters.
“Law enforcement personnel immediately responded to the scene and contained the situation,” the DNC’s Joint Public Safety Information Center said in a statement. “At no time was the interior perimeter breached and there was no threat to any protected persons.”
The incursion appeared to be under control by 6 p.m. After police pushed protesters back outside, Chicago police put the fencing back in place.
Chicago police hammer a metal barricade back into place after protesters temporarily breached it, sparking a standoff with officers Monday outside the Democratic National Convention.
(Faith E. Pinho/Los Angeles Times)
Several protesters were detained, but authorities did not immediately provide information about the arrest.
Just outside the security barrier next to a park along Washington Boulevard, police detained a woman with her hands behind her back.
“Mom!” a child shouted from the other side of the fence. “Are you okay?”
Dozens of police in riot gear and carrying plastic shields roamed the street just outside the park.
Near the barricade were several splintered sticks and signs reading: “From Chicago to Palestine, occupation is a crime!” A flag reading “Asian Americans for a Liberated Palestine” hung from a metal pole.
Pinho reported from Chicago and Jarvie from Atlanta.
