New fencing goes up outside DNC a day after pro-Palestinian protesters breach outer barrier

CNN

By Eric Levenson and Bill Kirkos, CNN

(CNN) — Chicago crews installed an additional line of security fences outside the Democratic National Convention early Tuesday in the area where, a day earlier, demonstrators breached an outer perimeter fence.

About a dozen workers installed a third row of fencing stretching east on Washington Boulevard from the area that was breached. The new row of fencing is in between the two rows that had already been in place.

The added security measure comes a day after a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, rallying against US support for Israel in its war against Hamas, split off from a larger protest march and breached a security fence near the United Center.

Members of this smaller group waved Palestinian flags, held up signs reading “Victory to the Palestinian struggle!” and chanted “Biden, Harris, you can’t hide, you’re funding a genocide,” video of the scene shows.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling said some officers were hit by water bottles and sprayed by protesters with pepper spray, but there were no major injuries.

He said officers had shown restraint in their response.

Thirteen people were arrested during the protests Monday, including 10 people who breached the fence, Snelling said. The charges ranged from criminal trespass to aggravated battery of police officers, he said.

“Those police officers responded perfectly, and we’ve got bodycam footage to prove it,” he said. He declined to immediately release any body-camera footage of the incident.

A day earlier, Snelling spoke to reporters and said the group had made it through one of two fences set up outside the convention area.

“They breached the fence. They got into the outer perimeter. They were trying to get into the inner perimeter, they were shaking the fence on the other side,” Snelling said. “Officers responded swiftly to make sure that that didn’t happen.”

“Our job here is to make sure that we keep the DNC safe, keep our city safe and keep our city safe,” he added. “We have no idea what they would have done had they gotten onto the other side. But as I’ve said before, we’re not going to tolerate anyone who is going to vandalize things in our city. We are not going to tolerate anyone who (is) going to commit acts of violence.”

Snelling said he did not associate the security breach with the march as a whole. “You had people who just wanted to have their voices heard. They did that. But you had a portion of that group who decided that they were going to stand behind and try to breach the fence and get to the other side, and we cannot let that happen,” he said.

The DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center said in a statement: “At no point was the inner perimeter breached, and there was no threat to any protectees.”

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, speaking with CNN from the convention floor Monday, said authorities have “a good plan in place” and described the fence breaching as brief. He said authorities will respect the right to protest but will not “stand for any mayhem.”

The pro-Palestinian march Monday was one of a number of protests related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war set to take place during the four-day convention. In anticipation of large protests, authorities have set up significant security operations around the United Center.

The protests have had other impacts as well. The Secret Service said Tuesday that a combination of protest activity in the area and two other separate shuttle bus incidents caused significant bus delays for attendees Monday evening.

Democratic speakers have largely shied away from discussing the Israel-Hamas war, although President Joe Biden specifically mentioned the protests as he said his administration was working to achieve a ceasefire and end the war.

“Those protesters out in the street, they have a point,” he said in his remarks. “A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”

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CNN’s Whitney Wild, Andy Rose, Michael Williams, Jamiel Lynch and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.