Democratic convention

NBC News -As high-profile Democrats and their supporters gather in Chicago next week for the Democratic National Convention, more than 20,000 protesters are expected to cram into a court-approved protest route nearby. The anticipation of so many protesters in a relatively small 1.4-mile route is fostering fears of a potential standoff between demonstrators and a police department with a long history of excessive force. Most of the 264 protest groups that have said they will participate are focused on Palestinian rights, ending the war in Gaza and reducing U.S. aid to Israel. Others represent a patchwork of left-leaning causes: climate activists, socialists, anti-racist organizations and queer and trans rights groups.

The approved protest route is nearly a mile short of what organizers asked for, and they're concerned that the large numbers of demonstrators expected won’t be able to fit into such a condensed space. There’s also concern surrounding the Chicago Police Department. Its officers famously clashed with protesters during the 1968 Democratic Convention in the city, and the agency has long struggled with racial bias complaints, excessive use of force cases and a spate of high-profile shootings. “If people come here to protest peacefully, exercise their First Amendment rights, our officers are going to not only allow them to do it, but to protect them while they’re doing it,” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told NBC News. “But what our officers are not going to allow, we’re not going to allow someone to come to our city and destroy it. So acts of violence, acts of vandalism, will not be tolerated in this city.” MORE