Smaller Protests, No Marches On Convention's Day 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Small protests popped up around downtown Philadelphia on Wednesday and no marches were planned, making for quieter streets on Day 3 of the Democratic convention.

Two groups of Bernie Sanders supporters were slowly gathering at a plaza near City Hall for daylong rallies and speeches. A few hundred had assembled by early afternoon, blasting tunes by "Lean on Me" singer Bill Withers.

Police detained about a dozen demonstrators at Comcast's corporate headquarters during a protest accusing the cable giant and owner of NBC of not reporting the truth. Officers zip-tied them and briefly closed the 975-foot skyscraper to all but Comcast employees. Police planned to ticket the protesters.

Another group of about a dozen anti-Israel demonstrators protested at a Marriott hotel where a number of delegations to the four-day convention were staying. They called for a free Palestine.

The absence of marches was a marked change from earlier in the week.

Thousands of activists have taken to the streets during the convention to voice support for Sanders and his liberal agenda. On Tuesday night, the "Bernie or bust" brigades watched in dismay as Hillary Clinton became the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

"We all have this unrealistic dream that democracy is alive in America," said Debra Dilks, of Boonville, Missouri. She said she isn't sure she will even vote in November: "Hillary didn't get the nomination. The nomination was stolen."

The longstanding bitterness between Sanders' supporters and Clinton's seemed to grow worse over the past few days after a trove of hacked emails showed that officials at the Democratic National Committee played favorites during the primaries and sought to undermine Sanders' campaign.

Sanders had urged supporters Monday to fall in line behind Clinton for the good of the country. But many were unmoved.

Thousands gathered in the streets outside the convention at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night, and some tried to scale the 8-foot walls around a restricted zone. Police and the Secret Service arrested four protesters.

As of midday Wednesday, only about 75 people were at the nearby park that has become a base for the protesters.