DNC Protests: How Chicago Police Respond Will Impact Freedom Of The Press

Reporters covering DNC protests should be prepared for potential interference or attacks from Chicago police as they try to do their jobs.

Photo: Steve Rhodes

*Editor’s Note: Based in the Chicagoland area, I’ll be on the ground throughout next week to chronicle and track the impact that policing has on freedom of the press during the DNC.

Journalists from all over the United States and the world will be in Chicago next week for the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Many reporters will cover rallies and demonstrations that city residents have organized for months, particularly against Israel’s war on Gaza.

The Chicago Police Department (CPD), which has a substantial record of violating First Amendment rights, is in charge of security, and throughout the nation, there has been a documented increase in arrests, assaults, and damage to media equipment by police at antiwar protests.  

A coalition led by legal organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and National Lawyers Guild Chicago wrote a letter to Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. They demanded that the city respect people’s rights to speech and assembly during the DNC. 

“We do not want a repeat of the violence and violations committed by the CPD during the Democratic National Convention of 1968, the anti-Iraq war protest on March 20, 2003, the 2012 NATO summit and throughout the 2020 summer of demonstrations in support of Black lives,” they stated.

The coalition recalled, “During the last eight months, CPD officers have targeted people protesting for a ceasefire and justice in Palestine with violence, verbal harassment, and unnecessary arrests.”

Read the full article at The Dissenter.