DNC protest organizer says pro-Palestinian marches won't stop until "Palestine is truly free"
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One of the largest groups planning to march at the Democratic National Convention in August is taking the city to federal court, after officials denied every single application for a permit to protest in proximity to the convention.
The U.S. Palestinian Community Network is one of more than 70 organizations involved in planning various protests during the four-day convention at the United Center.
The largest of those groups, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network is one of two groups who have filed a federal lawsuit against the city, arguing the city improperly denied them permits to hold a pair of protest marches within blocks of the DNC.
The protesters have argued they should be allowed to be seen and heard by the politicians and delegates attending the convention at the United Center.
"This is the place where we want to have our permitted march," said Hatem Abudayyeh, chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.
Last month, organizers of two planned pro-Palestinian protest marches during the DNC filed a federal lawsuit, accusing the city of violating their First Amendment rights by denying permits to protest within blocks of the United Center during the convention.
The protesters have said they want to send a message to President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders to do more to force a ceasefire in Gaza.
The groups had sought permits for protest marches on the first and last days of the convention, with parade routes that would have taken them within one block of the United Center, but the Chicago Department of Transportation denied those requests.
The groups appealed their denial, but were again rejected by the city's Department of Administrative Hearings.
The lawsuit claims the city denied their application for protest permits "based on unspecified security concerns immediately around the United Center DNC."
The groups also claimed, when the city denied their permits, officials were required to offer an alternative route that is within similar visibility to the United Center as the one they sought, but instead offered one more than three miles away in Grant Park, where convention guests would not be able to see them.
City officials did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, and the city has yet to file a formal response in court.
Abudayyeh said protesters should be allowed "to march within sight and sound of the DNC."
"It is the Democrats who are in power right now, and it is the Democrats who could stop this [war in Gaza]," he said. "This is going to be the largest protest for Palestinian rights in the history of Chicago."
Abudayyeh said activists from Chicago will be joined by thousands of others from across the country during the DNC.
"We want it to be permitted, and we want to be able to do that in a peaceful manner," he said.
But another word has been used by their organization: miserable.
According to published reports, Abudayyeh has said protest groups want to "make life miserable" for DNC organizers.
"I think the main goal is no business as usual," Abudayyeh told CBS 2's Tara Molina.
But he said there's a larger overarching main goal for the protests, and it's about more than just President Biden demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
"I think protesting will never stop until Palestine is truly free," he said. "The intensity of these protests will probably slow down if Israel and the United States accept the terms of the Palestinians, which is the army has to leave Gaza. They have to allow for the Palestinians to move back into their homes from the areas that they were displaced. They need to allow aid in. And they need to stop the killing."
In the months leading up to the DNC, comparisons already have been made to the 1968 DNC in Chicago, which led to violent clashes between protesters and police.
Abudayyeh said claims that these protests will be as violent are irresponsible.