Chicago’s Democratic mayor is moving to keep protesters miles away from the Democratic National Convention in the city in August, blocking pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ requests for permits to help insulate President Biden.
A lawyer representing one of the planned protests calls the city’s actions a heavy-handed, unconstitutional restriction of free speech.
College campuses across the U.S. have erupted into chaotic protests over the Israel-Hamas war, and other demonstrators have interrupted Mr. Biden’s speeches, taking over his events and drowning out his remarks with chants of “Genocide Joe.”
Many Democrats, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, fear voters’ attention would be focused on mayhem outside the downtown arena instead of the carefully staged events inside it. They fear the protesters’ antics will overshadow Mr. Biden’s message.
More than 70 organizations have formed a coalition dubbed “March on the DNC,” which they say will be the largest protest for Palestinian rights in Chicago’s history, with tens of thousands of people showing up across the country.
The group is one of several organizations that have been denied a permit by the city. Earlier this month, Chicago officials blocked a protest permit request by a coalition of nine groups supporting abortion access. They say they want to march to demand that Democratic leaders call for “comprehensive and inclusive health care policies that affirm the needs of trans and queer people.”
But Chicago Department of Transportation officials insist the demonstrations would “substantially and unnecessarily interfere with traffic in the area” and there would not be enough police officers or other city employees available to ensure public safety, according to the lawsuits.
Both groups amended their applications, seeking shorter march routes, requests that were also denied. Instead, the Chicago Department of Transportation suggested an alternative route for the protests, which would render it essentially invisible to the 50,000 individuals who will descend upon the Aug. 19-22 convention.
“The city ordinance at issue is an unconstitutional restriction on political speech on its face and how it’s being applied,” Chris Williams, a lawyer representing those groups, said in a statement.
Mr. Williams said the city has threatened demonstrators with “thousands of dollars in fines” and jail time, “creating a serious chilling effect discouraging political speech at the DNC.”
Kobi Guillory, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC, said the city’s decision to move the protests 3 miles away from the convention site is unacceptable.
“We must march to where the delegates at the DNC can hear us and see us. This is the party in power, the party of Genocide Joe Biden. Biden could stop the war with one phone call. He refuses to take action, and so we must protest,” he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois has joined both lawsuits. It says the city is simply unprepared for the protests headed to Chicago, saying there isn’t enough crew to protect protesters and others. It’s easier, the ACLU says, for the city to deny the protesters than develop a “clear, transparent plan” to allow groups to demonstrate.
City officials don’t dispute that argument, insisting in response to the lawsuits that Chicago doesn’t have enough police to keep protesters in line, regulate traffic and carry out other duties that have nothing to do with the Democratic convention.
Last week, however, the mayor contradicted those claims.
“We are prepared for the DNC,” Mr. Johnson said. “My vision for the DNC, ultimately, is to have a safe, energetic, vibrant convention, and I’m confident we will be able to deliver that.”
Chicago’s Secret Service field office said security training began last year to prepare for “civil disturbances,” conducting exercises in anticipation of potential emergencies. The city is also set to receive $75 million from the federal government for convention security.
The looming confrontation between the pro-Palestinian demonstrators and authorities at the DNC echoes the party’s 1968 convention, also in Chicago, when a violent police crackdown on Vietnam War protesters overshadowed the convention itself and hurt the party’s nominee, Hubert Humphrey.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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