Chicago
CNN
—

Early Tuesday morning, law enforcement officials erected an additional line of security fencing outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in the area where protesters had breached an outer perimeter fence a day earlier.

A few hours later, on the second night of the convention, new protests broke out in the streets of Chicago, including clashes with police.

About a dozen workers erected a third line of fence extending east from the breached area to Washington Boulevard. The new line sits between two existing lines.

The additional security measure came a day after a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting U.S. support for Israel in the war against Hamas split off from a larger protest march and broke through a security fence near the United Center.

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

Protests against Israel’s war against Hamas following the group’s October 7 attacks led to demonstrations across the country demanding an immediate ceasefire. Some of these demonstrations were openly anti-Semitic, with some protesters expressing support for Hamas, which Biden and Harris condemned.

“I will no longer be complicit”: Protesters break through the DNC’s perimeter

At a press conference on Tuesday, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said some officers were hit by water bottles and pepper sprayed by protesters, but there were no major injuries.

He said officers had shown restraint in their response. Police were also involved in clashes at a large demonstration on Tuesday evening.

Physical clashes between police and demonstrators near the Israeli consulate

There were some tense moments at Tuesday night’s protests outside the Israeli consulate when protesters and police in helmets began pushing and shoving, a CNN crew observed. According to CNN affiliate WLS, an organization called Behind Enemy Lines was demonstrating and had several speakers address the crowd before it turned physical.

After the confrontation, members of the large crowd remained in the area and followed various chanters, shouting slogans such as “Free, free Palestine!”

Jeff, a 52-year-old from Florida who did not want to give his last name, carried an “Abandon Harris ’24” placard and said he is currently part of the Abandon Biden campaign.

“We are here to exercise our rights as Americans and taxpayers. We spend so much money on people abroad. And we should spend it here too,” said Jeff, who came to the United States from East Jerusalem 44 years ago.

He said the United States was once the most popular country in the world, but today it is the most hated.

“I tell people: vote according to your conscience. Never support genocide, because today you support it, tomorrow you are the victim,” he said.

Jeff said he doesn’t know who he will vote for, but it won’t be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.

There was initially no information on how many arrests were made on Tuesday evening, but apparently at least one person was detained by police.

Thirteen people were arrested during Monday’s protests, including 10 people who breached the fence, Snelling said. Charges ranged from trespassing to aggravated assault on police officers, he said.

“The police officers reacted perfectly and we have bodycam footage to prove it,” he said. He declined to immediately release bodycam footage of the incident.

A day earlier, Snelling had spoken to reporters and said the group had made it through one of the two fences that had been erected outside the convention grounds.

“They breached the fence. They entered the outer perimeter. They tried to get into the inner perimeter and shook the fence on the other side,” Snelling said. “Officers responded quickly to make sure that didn’t happen.”

“Our job here is to make sure the DNC is safe, that our city is safe and that our city is safe,” he added. “We have no idea what they would have done if they got on the other side. But like I said, we will not tolerate anyone destroying things in our city. We will not tolerate anyone committing acts of violence.”

Snelling said he did not connect the security breach to the march as a whole. “There were people who just wanted to make their voices heard. And they did that. But part of the group decided to stand behind it and try to break through the fence and get to the other side, and we cannot allow that to happen,” he said.

The DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center said in a statement: “At no time was the inner perimeter breached and there was no danger to the protected persons.”

Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker told CNN on Monday in the House chamber that authorities had “a good plan” and described the breach of the fence as brief. He said authorities would respect the right to protest but “will not tolerate chaos.”

Monday’s pro-Palestinian march was one of several protests related to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas scheduled to take place during the four-day convention. In anticipation of large protests, authorities have set up extensive security measures 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 Monday night resulted in significant delays to buses for participants.

Democratic spokespeople largely avoided talking about the war between Israel and Hamas, although President Joe Biden specifically mentioned the protests when he said his administration was working toward a ceasefire and an end to the war.

“The protesters on the streets are right,” he said in his remarks. “Many innocent people are being killed on both sides.”