More than 12 anti-war protesters arrested in Chicago | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

CHICAGO – More than a dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested Tuesday during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spread to surrounding streets on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

The violent clashes with police began minutes after the demonstration began, after some protesters – many dressed in black and with their faces covered – attacked a line of police officers who had stopped the group from marching. They eventually managed to get past the police, but were surrounded several times during the night by police in riot gear who did not allow the protesters to disperse. Police called the demonstrations an “unlawful assembly.”

Earlier in the night, police officers with wooden batons shouted “movement” and surrounded some demonstrators on the street to prevent them from marching further.

Some protesters set fire to an American flag in the street as Vice President Kamala Harris's farewell ceremony took place at the United Center about two miles away. Others carried Palestinian flags, while many others dressed in black and covered their faces.

As protesters regrouped and approached a line of police in riot gear outside a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate, an officer said into a megaphone, “You are requested to disperse immediately.” A woman at the front of the march shouted back into her own megaphone, “We are not afraid of you.”

A man wearing a Chicago Bulls cap and a balaclava over his face urged protesters to “shut down the DNC.” The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of more than 200 groups that organized Monday's protests, had announced the demonstration on Tuesday under the slogan “Make it great like '68,” recalling the anti-Vietnam War protests that swept the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The atmosphere, with rows of police in riot gear, was a stark contrast to the atmosphere a day earlier, when thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, including families with babies in strollers, marched near the convention grounds calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Police kept protesters confined to one block of Madison Street, a normally busy downtown thoroughfare where traffic came to a standstill at both ends Tuesday night.

Police had closed most of the building's entrances on Tuesday, so commuters could only enter through one entrance, where armed officers were also stationed. Many shops in the building were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for Metra, said train service was running normally.

The consulate has been the scene of numerous demonstrations since the Gaza war began in October. It is located in a building attached to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.

Meanwhile, the sites of last night's demonstrations were largely quiet. Thirteen people were arrested during Monday's protests, most of them in connection with a “brief breach” of the security fence “within sight and hearing of the United Center,” the city's police chief said.

Israel supporters, including some relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas, gathered earlier in the day at a pro-Israel art installation not far from the consulate to call on the U.S. government to continue to support Israel and work for the release of the hostages. The art installation included giant milk cartons with photos of some of the hostages.

More protests were planned throughout the week, but the turnout at the main rally on Monday was far below organizers' estimates of more than 20,000 participants.

Chicago Police Chief Larry Snelling said Tuesday the crowd numbered about 3,500 people and the vast majority of protesters were peaceful.

However, some clashed with police, using pepper spray against them and throwing water bottles at officers during one clash in a park where there was a gap in the security fence, Snelling said. He said officers did not use chemical sprays.

The park where most of the arrests took place is a block from the convention grounds and served as the destination for a march of thousands demanding a ceasefire. Several dozen activists split from the main group, broke through the fence and were pushed back by police.

Authorities said the internal security perimeter around the United Center had not been breached and there was no danger to convention attendees.

On Tuesday morning, additional fencing was erected in the park and high metal barriers were reinforced to prevent protesters from lifting and removing the panels. There were no police or protesters in the park early Tuesday.

The 13 people arrested during Monday's protests were held on charges ranging from trespassing, resisting justice and obstruction of justice to aggravated assault against police officers, Snelling said.

The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said two of those arrested were hospitalized. Snelling said they were not taken to the hospital because of their injuries, but “to provide them with the necessary treatment related to their medications.”

By Tuesday morning, 15 people had been arrested.

A protester is detained by police near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People watch from the second floor of a building as police block the street during a demonstration near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A police officer observes a protest near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Voter refusenik Mike Lindell of MyPillow and a protester argue near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Protesters clash with police near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Protesters clash with police near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Protesters burn a flag near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A protester and a counter-protester brawl near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)