The Chicago Police Department has over 12,000 cops. And it felt like all of them were deployed at each march and rally: creating bike-cop-barricades to restrict protester movement, forming walls of officers to block journalists from taking pictures of arrests, effectively kettling both protesters and journalists within police lines to ensure compliance. Protesters generally were compliant – focusing on the message: “Free Palestine!” that they wanted to deliver to the DNC and to the world without creating distractions about protester “violence.”
Every morning at the CPD press conference, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling lauded his officers for their work. “I could not be more proud” was his mantra, repeated daily. After the convention at Friday morning’s briefing, he declared the world had just witnessed “some of the best policing in America.” We disagree. The First Amendment rights of thousands were severely restricted and controlled by police at every protest event over the course of the convention.
Free Speech Cages
Since 1988, convention cities have set up designated protest zones to allow authorities to closely monitor and control First Amendment activity. Generally they have been isolated, fenced in areas too far away from the convention site to be considered within “sight and sound” of the intended audience. Protesters scorn them, calling them free speech cages. Chicago riffed on the concept, basically creating roving free speech cages by surrounding every protest with masses of police. Movement and behavior was tightly controlled by phalanxes of police including bike cops and cops in riot gear that surrounded the protesters as they marched along the routes specified in their permits.
But cops were not able to contain the passion or enthusiasm of the thousands who turned out. People chanted, banged on drums, and waved Palestinian flags, despite being hemmed in by police. The largest protests were on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, kicking off at Union Park, and following a designated route through the neighborhood near the United Center, site of the DNC. One stop along the route allowed for a glimpse of the United Center: a playground and grassy area called Park 578. After the Coalition to March on the DNC left the park on Monday, a small group stayed behind and knocked over a section of fencing to get a few steps closer to the DNC. They put no one (except themselves) in danger, and were immediately arrested. But CPD and the Secret Service were embarrassed.
The parades on Wednesday and Thursday were meant to stop at Park 578, but police lines signaled to protesters they weren’t allowed in the park. Protesters acquiesced, refusing to escalate the situation into a confrontation, they paused outside the park to chant and wave signs in the direction of the arena. Only a few random members of the media entered the park to climb the jungle gym to get better pictures of the demonstration.
Chicago Police form a line blocking protesters from entering Park 578
Police repeatedly asserted control, threatening protesters engaged in legal activity with arrest. As an example, police demanded that a small group of protesters take down tents they had set up in Union Park (a public park). The protesters noted that the park was still open and there was nothing illegal about their tents… but in the end, to avoid police violence, they took down their tents.
Arrests and Excessive Force
Police made 74 arrests at protests, injuring three protesters badly enough they needed to be taken to the hospital. Most were cited for disorderly conduct. According to the National Lawyers Guild Chicago, they could have been cited and released, but police chose instead to hold them for hours at a time.
The bulk of the arrests were made on Tuesday evening at a protest that started outside the Israeli Consulate. CPD Superintendent Snelling repeatedly accused the protesters of intending to engage in violence, vandalism, and criminal acts at his press briefings. The problem is, they didn’t actually do any of those things. No violence, no vandalism, and the most egregious criminal activity was occupying the street in front of the consulate to engage in chanting. As we previously reported, police surrounded the protest, preventing them from moving away from the consulate (individuals had to plead with police to get through if they wanted to leave), and arresting them when they did.
Attacks on Press Freedom
CPD’s Deputy Director of News Affairs and Communications, Thomas Ahern, was at most, if not all, of the protests. He repeatedly threatened to revoke press passes if journalists did not obey his orders to move away or disperse.
When the media tried to cover the breach of the fence at Park 578 on Monday, he ordered them away and threatened to take away their credentials. On Tuesday night, he did the same, ordering journalists to move back behind bike cops, and yanking the credentials from one journalist’s neck.
Four journalists were arrested on Tuesday night and some of their equipment was damaged. As some cops made arrests, other police formed tight lines to prevent media from observing police activities.
Thank the Protesters, Not the Police
The city’s and CPD’s attempts to mute the protests were unsuccessful because thousands were determined to make their voices heard, no matter what. It is galling that the authorities took credit for a “peaceful” convention because it was the protesters who deescalated tensions caused by the intimidating and aggressive police presence to focus on their message. Likewise, the presence of tenacious independent media who refused to allow the police to thwart or censor their coverage (H/T to Unicorn Riot, Jinx Press, and Status Coup News among others) ensured that the world could see the action in the streets. This was a high stakes event, and the DNC protester organizers showed they can deal with an inordinate police presence to make sure their message is heard.
The post Protesters Put Up With Massive Police Presence, Preemptive Kettling, and Aggressive Restrictions to Bring Their Message to the DNC appeared first on Defending Rights & Dissent.
Every morning at the CPD press conference, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling lauded his officers for their work. “I could not be more proud” was his mantra, repeated daily. After the convention at Friday morning’s briefing, he declared the world had just witnessed “some of the best policing in America.” We disagree. The First Amendment rights of thousands were severely restricted and controlled by police at every protest event over the course of the convention.
Free Speech Cages
Since 1988, convention cities have set up designated protest zones to allow authorities to closely monitor and control First Amendment activity. Generally they have been isolated, fenced in areas too far away from the convention site to be considered within “sight and sound” of the intended audience. Protesters scorn them, calling them free speech cages. Chicago riffed on the concept, basically creating roving free speech cages by surrounding every protest with masses of police. Movement and behavior was tightly controlled by phalanxes of police including bike cops and cops in riot gear that surrounded the protesters as they marched along the routes specified in their permits.
But cops were not able to contain the passion or enthusiasm of the thousands who turned out. People chanted, banged on drums, and waved Palestinian flags, despite being hemmed in by police. The largest protests were on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, kicking off at Union Park, and following a designated route through the neighborhood near the United Center, site of the DNC. One stop along the route allowed for a glimpse of the United Center: a playground and grassy area called Park 578. After the Coalition to March on the DNC left the park on Monday, a small group stayed behind and knocked over a section of fencing to get a few steps closer to the DNC. They put no one (except themselves) in danger, and were immediately arrested. But CPD and the Secret Service were embarrassed.
The parades on Wednesday and Thursday were meant to stop at Park 578, but police lines signaled to protesters they weren’t allowed in the park. Protesters acquiesced, refusing to escalate the situation into a confrontation, they paused outside the park to chant and wave signs in the direction of the arena. Only a few random members of the media entered the park to climb the jungle gym to get better pictures of the demonstration.
Chicago Police form a line blocking protesters from entering Park 578
Police repeatedly asserted control, threatening protesters engaged in legal activity with arrest. As an example, police demanded that a small group of protesters take down tents they had set up in Union Park (a public park). The protesters noted that the park was still open and there was nothing illegal about their tents… but in the end, to avoid police violence, they took down their tents.
Arrests and Excessive Force
Police made 74 arrests at protests, injuring three protesters badly enough they needed to be taken to the hospital. Most were cited for disorderly conduct. According to the National Lawyers Guild Chicago, they could have been cited and released, but police chose instead to hold them for hours at a time.
The bulk of the arrests were made on Tuesday evening at a protest that started outside the Israeli Consulate. CPD Superintendent Snelling repeatedly accused the protesters of intending to engage in violence, vandalism, and criminal acts at his press briefings. The problem is, they didn’t actually do any of those things. No violence, no vandalism, and the most egregious criminal activity was occupying the street in front of the consulate to engage in chanting. As we previously reported, police surrounded the protest, preventing them from moving away from the consulate (individuals had to plead with police to get through if they wanted to leave), and arresting them when they did.
Attacks on Press Freedom
CPD’s Deputy Director of News Affairs and Communications, Thomas Ahern, was at most, if not all, of the protests. He repeatedly threatened to revoke press passes if journalists did not obey his orders to move away or disperse.
When the media tried to cover the breach of the fence at Park 578 on Monday, he ordered them away and threatened to take away their credentials. On Tuesday night, he did the same, ordering journalists to move back behind bike cops, and yanking the credentials from one journalist’s neck.
Four journalists were arrested on Tuesday night and some of their equipment was damaged. As some cops made arrests, other police formed tight lines to prevent media from observing police activities.
Thank the Protesters, Not the Police
The city’s and CPD’s attempts to mute the protests were unsuccessful because thousands were determined to make their voices heard, no matter what. It is galling that the authorities took credit for a “peaceful” convention because it was the protesters who deescalated tensions caused by the intimidating and aggressive police presence to focus on their message. Likewise, the presence of tenacious independent media who refused to allow the police to thwart or censor their coverage (H/T to Unicorn Riot, Jinx Press, and Status Coup News among others) ensured that the world could see the action in the streets. This was a high stakes event, and the DNC protester organizers showed they can deal with an inordinate police presence to make sure their message is heard.
The post Protesters Put Up With Massive Police Presence, Preemptive Kettling, and Aggressive Restrictions to Bring Their Message to the DNC appeared first on Defending Rights & Dissent.