Federal judge rules against Chicago anti-Israel DNC protest groups days before start
Pro-Israel groups sought to stage a demonstration near Chicago's United Center.
This week, a federal judge in Chicago denied anti-Israel protest groups' request for additional space to protest the Gaza counteroffensive outside the Democratic National Convention next week.
The four groups, namely the Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Anti-War Committee, Students for a Democratic Society at UIC, and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, requested parade permits to march over a larger area.
This week, the judge rejected the protesters' claim that the city's preferred protest route infringes on their First Amendment rights.
The Secret Service and local law enforcement planners have chosen to block off a street near the United Center, one of two locations for the DNC next week, where they want to take their protest.
According to court filings, the judge rejected all four permits and instructed the groups to follow the alternative route suggested by the city of Chicago.
The city and its transportation commissioner were sued by the groups, who claimed First Amendment violations and sought a preliminary injunction and permission to march near the United Center.
The judge ruled against them Monday.
The judge was informed by Chicago lawyers that the city had previously made concessions to the organizers, such as allowing them to be near the United Center, one of the two locations where the convention will take place, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
Planet Chronicle Digital was previously informed by law enforcement sources that the original plan aimed to keep protesters hidden from view and earshot.
""We will never see a protester or rioters at the convention sites, as they are completely cordoned off and only authorized individuals will be present," a source stated before the court fight."
Protest organizers reportedly expect tens of thousands of people to show up.
Separately, pro-Israel organizers are looking to conduct counter demonstrations.
Between 1860 and 1996, Chicago hosted a total of 25 major political conventions, with 14 being Republican and 11 being Democratic, as stated by the Chicago History Museum.
The nominees emerging from Chicago conventions have been notable figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton.
In 1968, the infamous Democratic Convention nominated Hubert Humphrey, who ultimately lost to Richard Nixon, who was previously nominated in Chicago in 1960.
The city has hosted third-party conventions, such as those of the Libertarian and Green Parties.
The memory of violent clashes between anti-Vietnam War protesters and police is still present this year as anti-Israel groups aim to persuade the Democratic Party to abandon its support for Israel's ongoing operation in Gaza, which was triggered by a deadly terror attack that killed 1,200 on October 7, 2023.
The DNC runs from Aug. 19 to 22.
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