Chicago’s top cop defends West Loop arrests as protest organizer calls officers ‘thugs’

Hugs and warm food greeted more than a dozen people released from custody Wednesday morning, the day after protesters clashed with Chicago police in the West Loop, the largest confrontation so far during the DNC.

Supporters said they waited for hours outside a police station at Belmont and Western that is being used as a courtroom for arrests during this week’s convention. They had set up a table of food near an exit.

The small group of protestors are now marching away from Ogilvie towards Clinton Street, straight into a line of cops. #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/bQn5ul1fKk

— Emmanuel Camarillo (@mannycam) August 21, 2024

The group demonstrated against the war in Gaza and vowed to “shut down the DNC.” The group is not affiliated with the organizers of the much larger, and mostly peaceful, protest that took to the streets Monday near the United Center.

Dozens of people were arrested after protesters walked directly into a large group of police officials, four officers deep, around 7:30 p.m. on Madison Street. The officers began to push them the other way and yelled, “Move back, move back.” Scuffles began to break out, and officers wearing helmets moved into the crowd.

After marching down several streets, the police supervisor eventually declared it an “unlawful assembly.” The group did not have a permit to march.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, who was at the scene, told reporters at the end of the night that “this group of people showed up with the intent of committing violent acts and vandalism. They wanted chaos. We gave them multiple dispersal orders. We gave them a reasonable amount of time to disperse. So at some point, we tried to negotiate.”

“I’ve said from the very beginning, First Amendment is First Amendment expression. Please do that without committing any vandalism or violence,” he said.

He praised the hundreds of cops for a “proportional” response that included “no kettling” and pulling officers from tight areas at times “because we don’t need that spectacle.”

“Our officers followed our training,” Snelling said. “And our leadership was out here to make sure that our officers followed their training.”

While Snelling noted that more protests were expected as the convention continues, he reaffirmed his confidence in his police force.

The next large-scale demonstration, led by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine, was expected to kick off Wednesday afternoon from Union Park, which has emerged as a protest hub during the convention.

Cases wind through court

Earlier Wednesday, some of the protesters who were arrested a day earlier were appearing before judges at a police station at Belmont and Western avenues, which is being used to process cases throughout the convention.

On Wednesday morning, supporters said they had waited for hours outside the station, setting up a table of food near an exit while awaiting the court hearings.

The most serious case involved a 33-year-old Crystal Lake man accused of striking a cop. He was among at least a dozen people who were expected to appear in court throughout the day.

The 33-year-old allegedly knocked a police sergeant down when officers approached him during the protest at the consulate. He also faces misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and theft for allegedly being in possession of a police radio that an officer left unattended.

Cook County prosecutors did not file a motion to detain him, and he was released with standard conditions that he return to court and not be arrested again while his case is pending.

Prosecutors sought to have the man banned from the area around the United Center, where Democrats are holding their convention. The man’s public defender argued that the arrest near Halsted and Washington streets was far removed from the stadium, and Judge Mary Marubio denied the request.

 

Still, Marubio warned the man that picking up a new arrest could potentially threaten his release in the current case.