# Potential for violent protests at the DNC in Chicago **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 14, 2024, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681 "2024-08-14T04:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/21 "2024-08-14T20:29:32Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > What if they are stopping delegates from getting into the venue by peacefully sitting down in the middle of the street? When protesters recently blocked all traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, they were charged with 6 crimes. The district attorney’s office charged them with 1. trespassing to interfere with a business, 2. obstruction of a thoroughfare, 3. unlawful assembly, 4. refusal to disperse at a riot, 5. failure to obey the orders of police and 6. 38 counts of false imprisonment (the false imprisonment charge is for blocking the drivers on the bridge, who were trapped in their cars and held against their will for hours ) cite:[San Francisco D.A. brings charges against pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked Golden Gate Bridge](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-13/pro-palestinian-protesters-charged-for-closing-down-golden-gate-bridge) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/22 "2024-08-14T20:40:51Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It may be the end of Palestinians in Gaza, more oppression than ever in the West Bank, not to mention the end of Ukraine, the beginning of Russian hegemony in the region, and a serious thread to democracy in the US itself as the tyranny of Project 2025 starts to manifest. If this is what the pro-Palestinian groups want, protests that undermine the positive impact of the convention and the Harris-Walz campaign are just the way to achieve it. Narrow-minded unthinking morons! If one is of the opinion that America is irredeemable and that the best thing for the world is its quick collapse, before it can do more harm, then the disrupting Harris momentum makes sense. A Trump administration could well be the end of America and that is likely the Palestinians best hope. A number of people working with Gorbachev to reform the USSR came to the same conclusion: the whole system was rotten and probably needs to be torn down. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/23 "2024-08-14T20:51:31Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > If one is of the opinion that America is irredeemable and that the best thing for the world is its quick collapse, before it can do more harm, then the disrupting Harris momentum makes sense. A Trump administration could well be the end of America and that is likely the Palestinians best hope. I can get behind your first sentence. I disagree with the second because a Trump administration would give Israel carte blanche to end the Palestinian problem completely in the next few years. The Palestinians wouldn’t have time to enjoy the fruits of America’s downfall. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/24 "2024-08-14T20:58:10Z")
After reading their manifesto helpfully linked by Mr Godot above , I don’t think Harris meeting with the group would do much good. They believe that Joe Biden and the Democratic party are responsible for genocide as well as mass incarceration of people of color. A few minutes chatting with former prosecutor Kamala Harris isn’t going to change their minds. At this point ‘hope things don’t go too badly’ is probably the only thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/25 "2024-08-14T20:59:07Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > What if they are stopping delegates from getting into the venue by peacefully sitting down in the middle of the street? > > When protesters recently blocked all traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, they were charged with 6 crimes. . . . There is no need to charge with crimes unless it is repeated many times. And if they are charged with purely peaceful offenses, authorities should drop the charges after the convention. The model of charging followed by trial followed by punishment does not fit here. My point was that the supposed plan to only arrest if there is violence or property crime seems not to fit if the issue becomes disruption of the democratic process as embodied in a political convention. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/26 "2024-08-14T20:59:36Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I can get behind your first sentence. I disagree with the second because a Trump administration would give Israel carte blanche to end the Palestinian problem completely in the next few years. The Palestinians wouldn’t have time to enjoy the fruits of America’s downfall. I’ve lived and worked in Palestine and my friends there would argue that Israel has carte blanche now. If someone is of the opinion that what is happening is a genocide and that either candidate will result in a continuation of the genocide, then it makes sense to a) use what little political capital you have now to force the issue, while the Democrats are desperate to avoid a revolt on their left flank and get some concessions, or barring that b) help hasten the collapse of the US through the election of Trump. It’s a desperate gambit by desperate people. That doesn’t make them morons, they are simply making different calculations based on different priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/27 "2024-08-14T21:36:42Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > I predict “false flag” rightists will pretend to be leftists and get wild & violent. I do not see it happening the other way around… Yes. Who benefits the most from Chaos at the DNC? The Republicans. Who has done this exact thing in the past? The Republicans. Who has the dirty tricksters in their campaign office to do this? The Republicans (see Miller, Scavino, Cheung, Stone) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/28 "2024-08-14T22:25:34Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Who benefits the most from Chaos at the DNC? The Republicans. This seems a bit like the old arguments against Biden dropping out. Some disagreement is good. I hope the demonstrations are lawful. But if some are not, it gives Harris an opportunity to judiciously demonstrate respect for the law, and for the great majority of police. Since the Trump campaign is based on the idea that Harris is far left, an opportunity to showcase the difference between her center-left stance, and that of the more extreme among the demonstrators, would prove Harris is normie. As far as right-wing anti-Palestinian provocateurs are concerned, I am a little skeptical they will appear, and I hope they do not. But if they do, I think it will be reasonably clear what happened. Attacking right-wing Zionist provocateurs would give Harris a way to say something those who lean against Israel will like without flip-flopping on her previous statements about the conflict. Humphrey got a [two point bounce](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/the-post-convention-bounce-voters-preference) after the 1968 convention, and that was more problematic because some of the people burning their ID were anti-Humphrey delegates in the hall. This time, the party is almost totally unified. Even the few delegates who are completely pro-Palestinian will hesitate to attack Harris too harshly, for fear of alienating her. No need to panic over drama that Harris can handle. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/29 "2024-08-14T22:29:23Z")
Harris met with some of the pro-Palestinian groups when she was in Detroit. If she can give them a sense that they are being heard and not just pandered to until the election is over, it could help mitigate the tensions before the convention. Fox would love nothing better than to show chaos on the streets and pin it on her. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/30 "2024-08-15T00:08:56Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Fox would love nothing better than to show chaos on the streets and pin it on her. Fox will either _create_ chaos on the streets, or just blatantly lie that it occured. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/31 "2024-08-15T01:28:08Z")
I’m certain you know who Stephen Miller and Roger Stone are and the roles they fill in the Trumpiverse. Are you familiar with [Chris LaCivita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_LaCivita)? Because you should be as he is one of those running the campaign and he is a truly evil fucker. All three I just named are capable of planting provocateurs among the protesters and could in fact be planning to do so. These guys would gladly lie, cheat and incite violence in order to get back in power. I’m just hoping they can’t succeed on any level if they choose to attempt it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/32 "2024-08-15T02:02:31Z")
I have two sons in Chicago, who have kept me abreast of pro-Palestinian protests since October. So far they have been loud but generally peaceful, with the worst examples being blockading the Dan Ryan Expressway and access to O’Hare Airport. No matter how fast those blockades can be cleared, they’ll mess things up for hours afterward. For those of you not familiar with Chicago, blockading the Dan Ryan can gridlock at least half the city. Meanwhile, although it was hardly noted nationally, last weekend was the 10th anniversary of the death of [Michael Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Michael_Brown) in Ferguson, MO. Commemorations of Brown’s killing became pro-Palestinian protests. And just like 10 years ago, the peaceful protestors dispersed after the late news, and the disruptors and troublemakers moved in, eventually sending one cop to the hospital who remains in critical condition at this point. Every protest has the potential of turning violent, no matter how peaceful the intention or how well organized. It doesn’t take the Republicans to screw things up. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/33 "2024-08-15T16:46:40Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > As far as right-wing anti-Palestinian provocateurs are concerned, I am a little skeptical they will appear, and I hope they do not. I wasn’t talking about genuine anti-Palestinian (or pro-Palestinian) protesters. I’m talking about bought and paid for Miller/Stone Republican operatives who are sent there to throw rocks and burn shit. More of these guys: [Man who helped ignite George Floyd riots identified as white supremacist: Police - ABC News (go.com)](https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-helped-ignite-george-floyd-riots-identified-white/story?id=72051536) ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/34 "2024-08-15T17:39:03Z")
Can’t remember where, but I read that a major demand was just that an a representative of Doctors Without Borders be given a speaking slot at the convention to give firsthand testimony of Israeli atrocities. Doesn’t seem unreasonable; after all, anti war groups did win a significant number of delegates. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/35 "2024-08-15T17:41:54Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I wasn’t talking about genuine anti-Palestinian (or pro-Palestinian) protesters. I’m talking about bought and paid for Miller/Stone Republican operatives who are sent there to throw rocks and burn shit. Also, let’s not forget that in addition to Trump, Putin and Netanyahu have a vested interest in chaos at the convention. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/36 "2024-08-15T18:09:56Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Also, let’s not forget that in addition to Trump, Putin and Netanyahu have a vested interest in chaos at the convention.. I see Russian operatives and Republican operatives being pretty much one and the same. Probably funded via the same sources. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/37 "2024-08-17T01:07:49Z")
So we now have a specific group that is calling [for shutting down the DNC](https://www.wbez.org/government-politics/dnc-2024/2024/08/16/one-chicago-protest-group-issues-a-call-to-make-it-great-like-68-and-shut-down-the-dnc). They are a self-described militant group operating under the name Behind Enemy Lines. No clue how large they are or what track record they have if any but > In one post on social media, that group urges “students and youth” to come to Chicago during the DNC to “take police beatings and arrests” in an effort to “shut down the DNC for Gaza.” > The group, which calls itself Behind Enemy Lines, wrote recently, “Make bruises from Chicago police batons the 2024 back to school Fall fashion.” They have an office in Chicago with posters saying “Stop Killer Kamala” among other stupid slogans. > “It’s not the protesters who are going to harm residents of Chicago or surveille their children, right?” the spokesperson said. “If people are exercising not just their constitutional rights to free expression, but what I think is a moral obligation to confront this convention, I think they should do that, and they should stand up for themselves. And if there’s violence, that will come not from us, but from the police.” Again, no idea how many of these idiots will be in the streets but they sound to me as if they are aiming to cause bad things to happen. They sound like a delightful bunch /s ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/38 "2024-08-17T01:39:30Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Can’t remember where, but I read that a major demand was just that an a representative of Doctors Without Borders be given a speaking slot at the convention to give firsthand testimony of Israeli atrocities. Doesn’t seem unreasonable; after all, anti war groups did win a significant number of delegates. If you mean the delegates who were elected in primaries as uncommitted, there are (per The NY Times) about 30 out of a total of approximately 4,600 delegates. But there probably are some Biden/Harris delegates with similar views, and I think squad members can be super-delegates. I do not believe in forced consensus. The party should be a big tent. Let them have their say, and the AIPAC types have their say as well. But it may be better to keep it out of prime time. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/39 "2024-08-17T05:39:31Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > They have an office in Chicago with posters saying “Stop Killer Kamala” among other stupid slogans. Inquiring minds would like to know how much they are funded by the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681/40 "2024-08-17T05:42:32Z")
Pretty much my thought. I haven’t found anything yet but continue to look. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-for-violent-protests-at-the-dnc-in-chicago/1005681.md?page=3)