Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters in the United States charged a line of police in an intense standoff with officers outside the Israeli consulate on the second night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
Protesters on Tuesday chanted “Let them go!” as police handcuffed at least four people and led them away from the demonstration. Officers carrying wooden clubs shouted “move” and penned the demonstrators in on the street, preventing them from marching.
Some demonstrators set a US flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place inside the United Center about 3.2km (2 miles) away. Others carried Palestinian flags, while many others wore black and covered their faces.
As protesters regrouped and approached a line of police in riot gear in front of a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate, an officer said into a megaphone, “You are ordered to immediately disburse.”
A woman in the front of the march shouted back with her own megaphone: “We’re not scared of you.”
A man in a Chicago Bulls hat, his face covered by a balaclava, called on protesters to “shut down the DNC”.
The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of more than 200 groups that organised Monday’s protests, advertised the demonstration on Tuesday under the slogan, “Make it great like ’68”, invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
The atmosphere with rows of police in riot gear was a stark contrast to a day earlier when thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, including families pushing babies in strollers, marched near the convention site calling for a ceasefire.
The consulate has been the site of numerous demonstrations since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.
Mohammed Ismail, a 29-year-old psychiatry resident who lives in Chicago, described the police presence as “excessive” and questioned why the group had been blocked from marching.
He said he joined the protest to urge Democrats to cease funding to Israel.
“It’s not right that we’re sending our tax money to fund an ongoing slaughter, an ongoing genocide,” Ismail said. “We’re a part of this conflict because our money is paying for it.”
Meanwhile, the sites of demonstrations from the previous night were largely quiet.
Thirteen people were arrested during Monday’s protests, most of them related to a “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center”, the city’s police superintendent said.
Israel supporters, including some relatives of people taken captive by Hamas, gathered earlier in the day at a pro-Israel art installation not far from the consulate to call on US leaders to continue backing Israel and pushing for the release of the captives.
The art installation included giant milk cartons bearing photos of some of the captives.
Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, condemned the pro-Palestinian protesters who have descended on Chicago this week, calling them “fringe crazies” and demanding US leaders “stand unequivocally with the state of Israel”.
More protests were planned throughout the week.
However, attendance at the main rally on Monday was far below the estimates of organisers who had predicted more than 20,000 would show up.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said on Tuesday that the crowd was about 3,500 strong and that the vast majority of the protesters were peaceful.
However, some clashed with police, used pepper spray against them and threw water bottles at officers during the clash in the park where there was a breach in security fencing, Snelling said. He said officers did not use any chemical sprays.
“Our officers showed great restraint,” he said at a news conference. “We’re not going to tolerate vandalism and violence in our city… We’re going to continue to protect the city.”
Snelling said with more protests planned, his department is prepared to de-escalate situations whenever possible.
“Again, we’re up to the challenge,” Snelling said. “The city is up to the challenge.”
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