Chicago ramps up security ahead of major pro-Palestinian march outside DNC

Security is ramping up in Chicago ahead of a major pro-Palestinian march outside of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, which begins today.

The first of many protests was expected on Monday, when it is reported “tens of thousands” of people could gather near the United Center to demonstrate against the Biden-Harris administration’s stance on Israel, organisers say.

An estimated 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and 85 per cent of people displaced from their homes there since the war’s onset.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are expected to accept their nominations this week but face significant disruption from protests both inside and outside the event.

One group, the March on the DNC coalition, said it intends “to bring the people’s agenda to within sight and sound of the Democratic Party leadership” and are holding protests today and Thursday.

The march today will start at Union Park and end up at Park 578, a couple of blocks north of the United Center. Organizers sued the city earlier this year, arguing restrictions over where they can protest violated their constitutional rights. They have now been allowed to have a stage and sound system at Park 578.

Organizers say numbers could hit more than 100,000. Police have been preparing for the DNC for a year, city officials said last week, and hundreds of officers from Illinois and Milwaukee have been brought in to support.

Police superintendent Larry Snelling previously said police received fresh de-escalation training, while 3,000 officers have undergone specialized training to “respond directly to civil unrest and the possibility of riots.”

County courts say they are opening more space in anticipation of mass arrests and hospitals near