Dozens of protesters arrested after clashes with police outside Israeli consulate in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) – Several pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested Tuesday after clashes with police during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spread to surrounding streets for the second night of the year. Democratic National Convention.

The violent confrontations with police began minutes into the demonstration, after some protesters – many dressed in black and with their faces covered – charged at a line of police officers who had blocked the group from marching. They were eventually able to get past the police, but were surrounded several times throughout the night by police in riot gear, who did not allow the protesters to disperse.

A majority of the arrests came at the end of the night, when police pinned the remaining protesters – some of whom said they wanted to go home – in a square and prevented them from leaving. Police Commissioner Larry Snelling denied that police had “encircled” protesters, a tactic that involves herding protesters into a confined area, which is prohibited under a federal order.

Snelling, who was present at all major demonstrations during the party conference, praised his officials' handling of the protests and described the response as proportionate.

“We have people who came here to commit acts of violence,” he told reporters late Tuesday. “They wanted chaos.”

When asked to describe the violence in detail, he said protesters ran straight into police. He declined to give the number of arrests because he did not have a definitive figure.

Earlier in the evening, some protesters had set fire to an American flag in the street as Vice President Kamala Harris's farewell ceremony took place at the United Center about two miles away. Others carried Palestinian flags, while many others dressed in black and covered their faces.

As protesters regrouped and approached a line of police in riot gear outside a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate, an officer said into a megaphone, “You are requested to disperse immediately.” A woman at the front of the march shouted back through her own megaphone, “We are not afraid of you.”

A man wearing a Chicago Bulls cap and a balaclava over his face urged protesters to “shut down the DNC.” The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of more than 200 groups that organized Monday's protests, announced the demonstration on Tuesday under the slogan “Make it great like '68,” referring to the anti-Vietnam War protests that swept the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The atmosphere with the rows of police in riot gear was a strong contrast to the day before as thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, including families with babies in strollers, marched near the convention grounds calling for a ceasefire.

Police kept protesters confined to one block of Madison Street, a normally busy downtown thoroughfare where traffic came to a standstill at both ends Tuesday night.

Police had closed most of the building's entrances on Tuesday, so commuters could only enter through one entrance, where armed officers were also stationed. Many shops in the building were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for Metra, said train service was running normally.

The consulate was the site of Numerous demonstrations since the Gaza war began in October. It is located in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.

Mohammed Ismail, a 29-year-old psychiatric resident from Chicago, called the police presence “excessive” and questioned why the group was prevented from marching. He said he joined the protest to urge Democrats to stop funding Israel.

“It is not right that we use our tax money to finance an ongoing massacre, an ongoing genocide,” Ismail said. “We are part of this conflict because it is financed with our money.”

Meanwhile, the sites of last night's demonstrations were largely quiet. Thirteen people were arrested during Monday's protests, most of them in connection with a “brief breach” of the security fence “within sight and hearing of the United Center,” Snelling said.

Israel supporters, including some relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas, gathered earlier in the day at a pro-Israel art installation not far from the consulate to call on the U.S. government to continue to support Israel and work for the release of the hostages. The art installation included giant milk cartons with photos of some of the hostages.

Elan Carr, CEO of the Israel-American Council, condemned the pro-Palestinian protesters who descended on Chicago this week, calling them “fringe lunatics” and demanding that U.S. leaders stand “clearly with the State of Israel.”

More protests were planned throughout the week, but the turnout at the main rally on Monday was far below organizers' estimates of more than 20,000 participants.

Snelling said on Monday The audience number was around 3,500 people and that the vast majority of these protesters were peaceful.

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Associated Press journalists Christine Fernando, Mike Pesoli and Serkan Gurbuz contributed to this report.