Protesters for the pro-Palestinian cause gathered in front of the Israeli Consulate downtown Tuesday night, and 55 to 60 people were arrested as the crowd clashed multiple times with police.
The protesters also burned an American flag.
The group Behind Enemy Lines organized the protest, which began at 7 p.m. at the Israeli Consulate, which is located in the Accenture Tower. Their protest flyers reference the chaos outside the Democratic National Convention of 1968, reading: "Make it great like '68! Shut down the DNC for Gaza."
After several confrontations with officers and a concern about a possible clash with pro-Israeli counterprotesters, the protesters dispersed. Some tried to get to the Federal Plaza several blocks away, but they only made it to Canal and Monroe streets about a block from the Accenture Tower—where more were arrested.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said Wednesday morning that approximately 55-60 people were arrested, and would face charges ranging from disorderly conduct to obstruction to aggravated battery to police.
At least 22 of those arrested were found out of town, including several from the West Coast, and 14 others have refused to give police an address.
Snelling also said three journalists were arrested for not complying with officers' orders when police began moving in to arrest protesters who had attacked police.
Some of the people who were arrested Tuesday night were released from custody Wednesday morning at the temporary DNC courthouse set up at the Area 3 police station at Belmont and Western. Approximately 10 people had been released by 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Protesters outside the courthouse said they were there to offer people being released support ranging from coffee to attorney information. Protest organizers said between 60 to 70 people were arrested during the demonstration, and members of Behind Enemy Lines said they will stay at the courthouse until everyone who was arrested is released.
The Ogilvie Transportation Center is located in the same building as the consulate, and before it even happened, Tuesday night's protest affected commuters making their way to the suburbs, as Metra closed the train station entrance near that location.
Inside the United Center, Illinois political powerbrokers took center stage as the Democratic Convention enters its second day following the theme "A Bold Vision for America's Future."
Both former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had primetime speaking roles. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who was on a shortlist as a possible running mate for Kamala Harris, also addressed the delegation.
A total of 13 people were arrested during the first day of the convention, most of them when a small group of protesters breached the outer security perimeter fence outside the United Center.
Pritzker says race is stark contrast between Harris and Trump's 'stupidity'
In his speech Tuesday night during the Democratic National Convention, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker framed the 2024 general election as a stark contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Pritzker began the speech by highlighting Illinois' rich history of being the starting point for multiple future presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama, who was also scheduled to speak Tuesday night. He even mentioned parts of Harris' early life spent in Illinois.
"Now Illinois' presidential pedigree is unmatched, and given that Vice President Kamala Harris spent some of her early life right here, I speak for the entire Illinois delegation when I say, we claim her too," Pritzker said.
But then the governor pivoted to a large portion of his speech blasting Trump, calling him a con artist. Pritzker even referred to his own vast wealth, estimated at around $3.5 billion, in criticizing Trump's economic policies.
"Donald Trump thinks that we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very rich, but take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity," Pritzker said, to a roaring reaction.
The governor even used the opportunity to defend the City of Chicago, which Trump criticized numerous times during his presidency.
"Donald Trump once called Chicago embarrassing. To quote a great Chicagoan who won six world championships on these very grounds, we take that personally," he said, using a reference to basketball legend Michael Jordan.
In his final plea for support of Harris, Pritzker framed the race as "a choice ... between the man who left our country a total mess and the woman who has spent four years cleaning it up, and I think it's time we stop expecting women to clean up messes without the authority and the title to match the job."
Watch the speech here:
Some arrests, flag burning at DNC protest
The second night of the Democratic National Convention was also set to be the second night of protests in Chicago on Tuesday.
The group Behind Enemy Lines began a protest Tuesday evening. outside the Israeli Consulate, located in the Accenture Tower at 500 W. Madison St. in the West Loop—1.75 miles due east of the United Center where the convention is underway. Several people were arrested as the protesters clashed with police, and the protesters also set American flags on fire.
The number of pro-Palestinian protesters in front of the Accenture Tower grew rapidly shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday. By 7:15 p.m., there were about 200 demonstrators, with the number expected to grow further. A Behind Enemy Lines representative was on a megaphone speaking to supporters.
Around 7:30 p.m. as the protest grew more heated, protesters came face-to-face with officers, telling them, "Move! Move!" The officers in riot helmets did not move.
Police also took away the wooden poles to which the protesters had attached flags and signs in case they might be used as weapons.
Shortly afterward, police began making some arrests that were seen on camera. At least three people were seen getting arrested during the protest. It was not immediately clear what the men did.
Later, some protesters found their way to the intersection of Canal and Monroe streets a short distance from the Accenture Tower. Several more people were arrested and were seen on video seated in the street in police custody.
As documented in photos, at least one person arrested Tuesday night had a media ID.
Police Supt. Snelling comes to protest scene
Police Supt. Larry Snelling came out Tuesday night to talk to the tactical officers on the scene in riot gear.
The pro-Palestinian protest group has tried again to move and advance south on Clinton Street, but officers were quick to prevent the protester from doing so.
Officers held batons as they maintained their phalanx and kept the protesters in place.
Andrew Ramos and his security guard were briefly caught up in a clash between protesters and officers as the protesters tried to advance down Clinton Street.
Contributing: Andrew Ramos
Police are doing good job handling protest, ex-mayor Lightfoot says
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said police were doing well in handling the potentially chaotic protest outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago.
Lightfoot said people have every right to express their First Amendment rights—and even stand by side in disagreement—as long as the situation does not become violent.
Violence against people, vandalism or destruction of property, or people throwing things at officers—as was seen in the unrest in Chicago following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020—are grounds for police to step in more aggressively, Lightfoot said.
Pro-Israeli counterprotest grows
Pro-Israel counterprotesters arrived in greater numbers near Madison and Canal streets just before 8 p.m. They were separated from the pro-Palestinian protesters by a human wall of police officers.
Some protesters on the pro-Palestinian said tried to push through the police phalanx, but were not allowed to do so.
Protesters set American flag on fire outside Israeli Consulate
Around 7:45 p.m., protesters lit an American flag, or possibly a bundle of American flags, on fire after dousing them in some kind of accelerant.
A crowd gathered around the fire. No first responders or police officers seemed to be addressing the fire.
Former Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said police would not address flags being set afire unless such an action posed a danger to people.
Arrests begin at protest at Israeli Consulate
Around 7:30 p.m., police did begin making some arrests that were seen on camera.
At least three people were seen getting arrested during the protest. It was not immediately clear what the men did.
The group took over Clinton Street at the intersection with Madison Street. The group was trying to head south on Clinton Street, but police prevented the movement.
Protesters face off with officers, police take away wooden flagpoles
Around 7:30 p.m. as the protest grew more heated, protesters came face-to-face with officers, telling them, "Move! Move!" The officers in riot helmets did not move.
Police also took away the wooden poles to which the protesters had attached flags and signs, in case they might be used as weapons.
No arrests were immediately witnessed.
Officers in riot gear are on scene just in case, former supt. says
The group Behind Enemy Lines has made statements suggesting a violent interaction with police could happen. One of the group's documents—dating back from before Kamala Harris replaced {resident Biden at the top of the ticket—says in part, "(W)e're calling on students and youth to be bold and audacious, take the frontlines, and yes, take police beatings and arrests to oppose Genocide Joe.
Former Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said police are aware of outside agitators coming in, but officers plan to keep a soft approach involving officers on bicycles unless and until things get out of hand.
Officers in riot gear were lined up just in case, he said.
Protest near Israeli consulate grows rapidly
The number of pro-Palestinian protesters in front of the Accenture Tower grew rapidly shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday.
By 7:15 p.m., there were about 200 demonstrators, with the number expected to grow further. A Behind Enemy Lines representative was on a megaphone speaking to supporters.
While there had been talk of a major counterprotest by Israeli supporters, there were had been no clashes as the protest began.
Madison Street was shut down between Jefferson and Canal streets, as police were blocking off the area to ensure the protest did not move from the area.
Legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild were also on the scene to assist in the event of arrests.
Some Israeli flags were seen nearby, but no clashes were seen.
Officers in riot gear and batons in hand were seen arriving at the scene soon after the protest grew.
Contributing: Andrew Ramos
Soul Children of Chicago sing the national anthem at the DNC
Protesters arrive outside Accenture Tower
Video posted to social media showed a group of several protesters walking toward the Accenture Tower—some with their faces covered in keffiyehs, and all wearing black. Some were carrying Palestinian flags.
Outside the building, dozens of protesters held signs and Palestinian flags. Numerous police officers had the area outside the Accenture Tower blocked off.
Temporary court in Chicago used for DNC-related arrests
There are more details about what happened to the people arrested during the DNC protests Monday as police arrested a total of 13 people, including 10 after the fence breach near the United Center.
The cost of being a DNC delegate
Businesses close early ahead of protest at Israeli Consulate
Businesses have closed early near the Accenture Tower at 500 W. Madison St., which houses the Israeli Consulate where the group Behind Enemy Lines is planning a protest for the pro-Palestinian cause Tuesday night.
The businesses cited "unforeseen circumstances" for the early closures on signs on the doors Tuesday evening.
The protest is set to begin at 7 p.m.
Hammer attack shuts down CTA Blue Line stop, disrupts some DNC commutes
A hammer attack on the CTA Blue Line on the city's West Side kept some people from getting to the United Center for the Democratic National Convention Tuesday evening.
Police said at 3:49 p.m., a 31-year-old man was on the platform for the Western Avenue Blue Line stop in the Forest Park branch—which runs through the West Side and Oak Park in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway. A woman came up and grabbed his phone away, police said.
The man tried to get his phone back, so the woman started beating him in the head with a hammer, police said. The woman hit the man multiple times, and he was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County with lacerations to the head, police said.
The Western stop on the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line was closed and bypassed by trains after the attack. Two men, Robert Allen and Dan Nelson, had planned to get on the Blue Line at Western and take it one stop to the Illinois Medical District to go to the United Center for the DNC—but with the station closed, they had to walk all the way instead.
"It's just too bad, because Chicago doesn't have the crime that everyone thinks it does," said Nelson, "and to have this happen right now, I just hope that's not the story—because the story is it's a beautiful city, and it's a wonderful place to leave, and the mass transit has been the best I've ever seen it."
Gov. JB Pritzker gets ready for speech tonight
Entry into DNC a little easier on Tuesday
One-day art exhibition draws attention to hostages held by Hamas
A couple of blocks from the United Center, a one-day exhibition called Hostage Square Chicago was set up—with a number of art installations and groups calling for hostages still being held by Hamas to be returned home. Eight of those hostages are American citizens.
Six Israeli artists were involved in the creations. One of them, "The Milk Carton Project," features the American citizen hostages' faces on 10-foot-tall milk cartons—echoing the campaign in which photos of missing children that were placed on milk cartons back in the 1980s.
In addition to drawing attention to the hostages, the installation also mourns the lives lost on Oct 7, 2023. It is set at Madison and Morgan streets—blocks from the United Center, which is serving as the headquarters for the DNC.
This is all happening on the same day the Israeli military said it recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza.
Police prepare for Israeli consulate protest; pro-Israeli counterprotest planned
Ahead of a protest titled, "Make it great like '68! Shut down the DNC for Gaza," by the group Behind Enemy Lines, Chicago Police were on the scene ahead of time, using the intersection of Madison and Clinton streets as a staging area.
Across the street, a pro-Israeli counterprotest was planned for the same time.
The group Behind Enemy Lines is set to protest at 7 p.m. outside the Israeli Consulate, located in the Accenture Tower at 500 W. Madison St. in the West Loop—1.75 miles due east of the United Center where the convention is under way.
Female Democrats, of all ages, excited for Kamala Harris' historic candidacy
The excitement continued on the second day of the Democratic National Convention with meetings at Chicago's McCormick Place focused on female empowerment from supporters of all ages. Among the supporters was 10-year-old DJ Lilly Jade from Ohio, who praised the "girl bosses" in the room at one meeting.
"'Girl boss' means you're a boss, but then you're also a female," she said. "That's what it means to me, because girls, we rule the world."
Obamas set to speak at DNC. How can they help the Harris-Walz ticket?
Former President Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. Former First Lady Michelle Obama also will speak, along with Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Former Ald. Leslie Hairston and former Illinois Republican Party chair Pat Brady discuss how the former president and other hometown favorites can help energize the Harris-Walz ticket.
Illinois delegation prepares to nominate Kamala Harris
James Taylor apologizes after performance canceled at DNC Day 1
Singer James Taylor took to social media to apologize to his fans after his performance at the opening night of the Democratic National Convention was canceled. The start of the convention was delayed on Monday, in part due to a breach of the outer security fence before the event started and also due to issues with buses dropping off delegates.
Taylor said in a post on X, formerly Twitter that he was prepared to perform after a "great rehearsal" at the United Center, "but it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn't be time for our 'You've Got a Friend' with cello and voices."
"Maybe the organizers couldn't anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center," Taylor wrote.
Metra closes Ogilvie Transportation Center entrance ahead of protest
Metra announced Tuesday afternoon that the entrance to the Ogilvie Transportation Center from the Accenture Tower, at 500 W. Madison St., will be closed for the evening due to a planned protest.
Commuters on the Union Pacific lines should enter through the French Market doors a block north on Clinton Street, Metra said.
The group Behind Enemy Lines is planning a protest at 7 p.m. at Chicago's Israeli Consulate, which is located in the Accenture Tower. Their protest flyers reference the chaos outside the Democratic National Convention of 1968, reading: "Make it great like '68! Shut down the DNC for Gaza."
VP Harris, Walz campaign in Wisconsin
Chicago DNC delegate on the emotional opening night
13 people arrested during first day of DNC; CPD says no changes needed to safety strategy
Chicago police said Tuesday that a total of 13 people were arrested during the first day of the DNC, including about 10 people who were arrested after a small group of agitators breached the outer security perimeter fence outside the DNC during a much larger protest march.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling estimated 3,500 protesters marched from Union Park, a few blocks away from the United Center, to Park 578 just north of the arena, before returning to Union Park, and the vast majority of them remained peaceful. The protest was a show of solidarity with Palestine, with activists calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and an end to U.S. funding to Israel.
Police said a small group of agitators within the larger protest crowd knocked down part of the outer security fence around 4:30 p.m., and some people passed through a gap in the fence, and began trying to knock down a second layer of fencing, but police were able to stop them.
Snelling said some of the people who got past the outer fence threw water bottles and other objects at police, and some in the crowd sprayed officers with pepper spray.
A total of 13 people were arrested on Monday in connection to the DNC. Snelling said approximately 10 of those people were arrested in connection to breaching the security fence, and would face charges including trespassing, resisting and obstructing police, and aggravated battery of police officers.
"We're not going to tolerate vandalism and violence in our city, and we're ready, willing, and able to respond to those things. So we're going to continue to protect the city," Snelling said. "I couldn't be more proud of how the Chicago Police Department responded under those circumstances. We put on display the training and the preparation that we've been engaged in for over a year now."
Despite the breach of the fence, Snelling said there was no need for CPD to change its public safety strategy during the DNC.
"We go the direction that we see a protest go. If everybody is exercising their First Amendment rights, it's peaceful, no one is violating the law, there's nothing to change. What we saw yesterday was not a peaceful protest at that location where the fence was breached. It started out peacefully, and those people who were engaging in First Amendment activity peacefully left the park. They left that location," Snelling said. "The people who decided that they wanted to commit crimes and vandalism stayed behind. We responded to that event with our officers who were properly trained to deal with the situation, and as a result of it there was no serious breach that could have been worse had we not been prepared for that."
DNC chair Jaime Harrison says party momentum will carry on into November
In addition to extra fencing, "there's definitely changes we can't see" to DNC security, former top CPD deputy says
Crews have added an extra layer of security fencing to the perimeter outside the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, after a group of protesters breached the fence on Monday. Former Chicago Police First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio said "there's definitely changes we can't see" to the DNC security plan going forward.
Day 2's DNC theme will be "A Bold Vision for America's Future"
Tuesday's theme at the Democratic National Convention will be "A Bold Vision for America's Future," during which the party is set to outline the choice between Harris and Trump and their outlook on the future.
Tuesday will also feature a ceremonial roll call vote to select the party's nominee, although Harris officially became the nominee after a virtual roll call vote earlier this month.
Former President Barack Obama is set to deliver the keynote address. Former first lady Michelle Obama is also tapped to address the convention Tuesday night, a source familiar with the planning told CBS News.
Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who was for a time among the names being considered as Harris' running mate, is also set to speak at Tuesday night's proceedings.
Former Rep. Bustos on Biden's keynote address
Political analyst Stephen Maynard Caliendo ahead of DNC day 2
Fencing added near United Center after protesters breach security perimeter
Crews are adding fencing to the security perimeter near the United Center ahead of the second day of the DNC.
As Darius Johnson reports, this comes after protesters breached the outer perimeter fence Monday in an attempt to get closer to the convention. Tension between protesters and officers persisted, and at least four people were arrested.
Chicago police will hold a press conference later this morning.
