Days before the Democratic National Convention, Chicago officials are facing blowback from anti-Israel protest groups after denying their months-old permit requests for stages and sound systems in a large park near the event’s venue.
The equipment would have been used to proclaim protesters’ message about cutting off U.S. aid to Israel during the war in Gaza, but the City of Chicago refused to accommodate their rally needs at the last minute. Two permit requests — asking for stages, sound equipment, portable restrooms, tents, and other amenities — have been pending for more than seven months, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Outraged by the move, the Coalition to March on the DNC filed an emergency petition on Wednesday asking a federal judge to intervene. The group, which has sued Chicago over protest preparations, claims its free-speech rights have been violated by the city.
“The city’s efforts to deny at this late date the plaintiff’s request for a stage and sound amplification system so speeches can be heard unreasonably burdens plaintiff’s First Amendment rights without the city creating a record that such restrictions serve a compelling governmental interest,” the motion says.
Stages, sound systems, and other equipment may be provided at a smaller park near the convention’s venue, United Center. However, per the city’s decision, the requested items will not be provided in Union Park located in the middle of the protesters’ designated route.
“It’s essentially telling us, you can go to this thing and meet, but you can’t have a program,” Palestinian activist Hatem Abudayyeh said Thursday.
In a letter, Chicago Department of Transportation assistant commissioner Bryan Gallardo said safety was of the utmost concern in making the decision. For example, people can conceal weapons in tents and portable bathrooms or use makeshift weapons against the police or public with the materials provided by such equipment.
“While CDOT is not suggesting that your particular group will use these items in these ways, their presence in the park could be abused by others to harm members of the public or law enforcement officers,” the letter states.
The Coalition to March on the DNC says public safety was not the driving motive for the city’s decision, alleging it wants to silence protesters’ anti-Israel message.
“The DNC has an interest in minimizing the exposure of Democratic officials to protests, particularly around the issues plaintiffs seeking to protest,” the group’s nine-page injunction reads. “The reason the city is denying . . . the opportunity to use stages and a sound system is because, at the behest of the DNC, they do not want the speeches heard.”
The court order was filed to prevent Chicago from enforcing these restrictions.
Coalition members will hold two protests during the four-day convention — one on Monday and the other next Thursday — according to Newsweek. Both demonstrations are still planned to be held at Union Park, with or without a stage and sound system. The group is currently marching 90 miles from Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention was held last month, to Chicago for the DNC.
An estimated 200 groups and 30,000 protesters from across the U.S. are expected to descend on the DNC next week.
On Monday, Chicago police superintendent Larry Snelling said his officers are prepared for a large number of protesters and will take action if riots start breaking out.
“We’re not going to allow you to riot,” Snelling said this week. “Protesting and rioting are two different things. You have the right to protest, but there will be no rioting tolerated.”
The Chicago Police Department has been diligently training its force to avoid the violent anti-Vietnam War protests during the city’s 1968 DNC and 2020 racial-justice riots following the death of George Floyd.
“It’s not 1968. Our officers are trained differently,” Snelling told NBC Chicago anchor Stefan Holt. “The department has evolved. Our officers have evolved. We’ve been training for this event for over a year, so the preparedness is what’s important.”