The DNC in Chicago, still plagued by the violence of the 1968 convention, prepares for potential unrest.

Authorities are striving to minimize violence in Chicago during the 2024 Democratic National Convention this week, with the involvement of federal, state, and local officials.

The Chicago Police Department, the Secret Service, and other agencies have been preparing for months to prevent planned demonstrations from turning violent, as they have done in the past.

""The Democratic Convention between 1968 and now is often overlooked, but it was successful, as Police Superintendent Larry Snelling stated last week," reporters were informed last week."

The Chicago History Museum reports that between 1860 and 1996, Chicago hosted a total of 25 major party political conventions, with 14 being Republican and 11 being Democratic. However, the 1968 convention, which took place during the Vietnam War protests, is considered the most notorious political convention in U.S. history.

An anti-Israel demonstration is planned for noon on Monday at Union Park, which is located near the United Center.

In 1968, anti-Vietnam War protesters clashed with police and National Guardsmen outside the convention that nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who assumed the mantle of presidential nominee without winning support in the normal primary process, similar to Vice President Kamala Harris's current situation.

The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, coupled with the unpopular war and resulting draft, weighed heavily on the minds of many American voters.

One law enforcement source told Planet Chronicle Digital that it's almost like you can superimpose the events and modify the problems.

The organizers of March on the DNC 2024 are demanding an end to U.S. support for Israel, legal status for 12 million illegal immigrants, and abortion protections, among other left-wing items, as they pledge to rally at the start and end of the convention.

The source described some of the demonstrators as professional protesters while coordinating bus rides and drop-offs for fellow out-of-state demonstrators.

This year's DNC has a secure perimeter set up around the United Center and McCormick Place Convention Center, and the approved route for demonstrators to march keeps them outside of it.

By the numbers

During the 1968 convention, left-wing protests against the Vietnam War broke out, resulting in a violent police response.

For several days, demonstrations took place outside the convention, near the Hilton hotel where participants were staying and in renowned Chicago parks. A delegate was reportedly charged with assaulting police at a gate, ripping an officer's badge from his shirt and biting another, according to a government report.

The 1968 report on the conflict, penned by Chicago Corporation Counsel Raymond Simon, provides insight into some hard figures regarding the unsuccessful convention.

Despite an increase of approximately 2 million people in Chicago's population over the past few decades, the police force still has around 12,000 officers.

Simon asserted that protesters were instructed to bring along smoke bombs, phony delegate cards, and football helmets, among other "props."

Over the course of protests, Simon estimated that the size of rioters ranged from 300 to 5,000. It was reported by the Associated Press that only approximately 10,000 people showed up on the day of Humphrey's nomination, despite organizers promising 100,000. Permit applications for planned marches were predicted to be between 150,000 and 200,000 people.

This year, it is predicted that there will be a large turnout for marches at Union Park on both Monday and Thursday, with organizers anticipating tens of thousands of attendees.

Simon's report revealed that 60% of the 641 individuals arrested during the 1968 chaos were from outside of Illinois. Out of the 280 individuals under the age of 21, 208 were students. Simon attributed much of the conflict to adult "troublemakers" from out of town.

Rioters hurled bricks and other missiles at police, who responded with clubs.

Simon stated that 198 police officers were injured and 54 required hospital treatment, while 60 civilians were also hospitalized due to clashes.

Over 300 civilian injuries were reported by the Associated Press, while Chicago police conducted internal probes into allegations of police brutality against 22 journalists.

Daniel Walker, on behalf of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, labeled the clashes a "police riot" and accused both minority officers and demonstrators of inciting the violence.

Witnesses claimed in interviews that police had deliberately targeted TV news cameramen, according to his report.

Earlier in the year, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley may have set the tone when he instructed police to "shoot to kill arsonists and shoot to maim looters" in response to riots following King's assassination.

The clashes were dubbed a "police riot" by its author, who found that many of the injured had not been accused of breaking any laws.

This year's DNC runs from Aug. 19 to 22.

Anyone who witnesses anything suspicious during the convention should immediately contact 911, as advised by city officials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.