Pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police outside Chicago’s Israeli consulate on Tuesday, coinciding with the Democratic National Convention at the nearby United Center. The agitators set an American flag on fire outside the consulate and attacked journalist Ben Bergquam when he tried to remove the flag from the flames.
As the flag burned, a protester with a microphone declared, “This is what we think of your f*cking flag.”
Tensions escalated as riot police faced off against the protesters. Multiple arrests were made as some protesters attempted to breach the police line, with Julio Rosas documenting the confrontations for The Blaze. The arrests continued into the evening.
Chants of “Globalize the intifada” and “It is right to rebel, DNC go to hell!” echoed outside the consulate. Police eventually pushed the group away, confining them to a one-block area with multiple walls of officers.
During the march, the protesters forced a taxi to reverse to avoid the crowd. A man with a megaphone shouted at the driver, “Go homie, go,” while the group chanted, “Bigots, bigots go on home, or we’ll bring the war home.”