Al Jazeera witnesses violent arrest of two hijab-wearing women as thousands in Chicago rally for Palestinian rights.
Chicago, Illinois – “Just like 1968, there’s nothing to celebrate.”
Palestinian rights protesters see plenty of parallels between the current Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the last time the gathering was held in the Windy City amid a violent crackdown on anti-Vietnam war protesters.
The chants on Wednesday echoed through the streets surrounding the United Center in Chicago, where thousands of Democratic delegates and supporters are gathering to celebrate the official nomination of Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential candidate.
Just as Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey lost the 1968 race to Richard Nixon, the demonstrators are warning Harris that they will not support her unless she ends the United States’ unconditional support for Israel.
Wednesday was the third day of the convention and the third day of the Gaza protests.
“DNC your hands are red, over 40,000 dead,” the protesters chanted as they waved Palestinian flags while marching in the streets.
Police officers dragged a row of bicycles – forming a moving chain – on the side of the road along the march to keep protesters on the approved path.
Whenever the protest came close to the convention centre, a wall of dozens of police officers blocked the road leading to the security perimeter that had been established around the venue.
A police helicopter hovered above the protest throughout.
Jinan Chehade, one of the activists leading the chants, agreed that Wednesday’s protest had been the largest of the 2024 convention.
“The turnout is amazing, and it’s a reflection of our call for justice and how big the Palestinian movement in Chicago is,” Chehade told Al Jazeera.
The protesters expressed anger and pain through their chants and posters over the war on Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in the past 10 months. But the demonstration remained peaceful.
Al Jazeera witnessed police officers violently arrest two young women at a transit station.
As the demonstration snaked through the street leading to the Damen transit station, several journalists and some demonstrators rushed to the elevated train platform that overlooks the road to take aerial footage of the crowd.
Law enforcement agents reminded people that photography was prohibited at the station, but their orders were largely ignored as journalists and protesters, including many professional photographers, continued to snap pictures.
Police officers, however, singled out two women wearing the hijab and after a brief exchange, they wrestled them to the ground and handcuffed them.
Demonstrators gathered around the police officers and chanted, “Let them go”. Meanwhile, more law enforcement agents showed up at the scene to escort the two women and arresting officers out of the station.
Officers did not respond to multiple questions by Al Jazeera on why the two visibly Muslim women were arrested out of more than two dozen people taking photos on the platform.
The Chicago Police Department also did not immediately return a request for comment.
More protests are scheduled on Thursday when the convention is set to conclude with Harris accepting the Democratic nomination.
Chicago is home to one the largest Palestinian communities in the US. Lizette Garza, a social justice activist, said people of various backgrounds in the city were “grieving” for the atrocities in Gaza alongside Palestinians.
“It’s really important for Chicago particularly as a liberal city to represent and to be antiwar when our families and communities are hurting so much,” Garza told Al Jazeera.