Although anti-Israel organizers said they expected as many as 20,000 protesters to descend on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago starting on Monday—the first day of the large-scale event—only a few thousand seemed to show up, the AP reported.
Reporters covering the event shared photos of fields of unclaimed signs.
“Say, fellas, I think you overestimated the demand for your signs today,” wrote Jim Geraghty, of National Review and The Washington Post. Geraghty posted a photo of piles of signs stating “Stand with Palestine!” and “End U.S. aid to Israel,” among other political slogans.
Most of the protesters “marched peacefully,” per the AP, though several dozen broke through a security fence near the convention, and “were detained and handcuffed by the police.”
“Officers put on gas masks as some protesters tried to bring down a second fence set up in front of police,” it wrote.
“At no point was the inner perimeter breached,” the Chicago Police stated. “There was no threat to any protectees.”
Footage and images circulated on social media purporting to show protesters openly supporting Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization. Protesters also accused U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president on the Democratic ticket, of supporting genocide, the AP reported.
“The people rioting at the DNC are organized by the Hamas network in America,” wrote Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “They hate Jews, yes. They hate law enforcement, sure. But listen to what they say and watch what they do: They hate America first and foremost.”
