Chicago Braces for Chaos: Courtrooms Prepared for Mass Arrests as Chicago Police Expect as Many as 100,000 Pro-Palestinian Protesters During DNC

The 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) is scheduled to take place from August 19-22, 2024.  The event will be held in Chicago, Illinois.

The convention is expected to celebrate Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president and Tim Walz as the nominee for vice president.

However, the city is bracing for what could be a perfect storm of chaos. With the possibility of up to 100,000 pro-Hamas protesters flooding the streets, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) is preparing for the worst.

According to WGN9, “Leaders of four Muslim organizations say they’re expecting upwards of 100,000 demonstrators to take part in a number of protests during the Democratic National Convention.”

The news outlet added that “three main protests are being planned for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, the first and last days of the convention. More than 150 organizations from around the country say they’ve formed a collective to have these protests be large in numbers, and while they represent a number of different interests, they say they will be focused on the Israeli-Palestinian war.”

The city’s preparation includes the transformation of a disused courtroom to streamline the processing of mass arrests during the DNC, according to News Nation Now.

Despite officers having undergone specialized de-escalation training, there is an expectation of violence and vandalism at the DNC.

The Chicago Police Department has taken proactive measures to handle this potential unrest, including centralizing its response to mass arrests.

News Nation Now reported:

Protesters arrested while marching at the DNC will be brought to a police station five miles north of the United Center, where many of the conference’s events will be taking place. The once-defunct courtroom in the station can now hold nearly 100 people.

“The decision was made mostly at the suggestion of the Chicago Police Department to centralize these unique set of circumstances, these coordinated multiple arrests so it doesn’t interfere with our day-to-day business,” Marubio told NewsNation.

[…]

“For anyone who is charged with an act of violence, they may not be released as quickly, so there are consequences for a re-arrest and violating the conditions of release,” Marubio explained.

In addition to preparing the courtroom, criminal jury trials have also been cleared for the week of the DNC, and criminal judges from other divisions of Cook County have been asked to clear their calendars in case they need to be called into action to help process those arrested.

An additional 30 courtrooms have also been cleared out in the very unlikely case the first one overflows, according to city officials.

Recent events have given the Chicago Police Department a dry run in handling mass arrests and how the Pretrial Fairness Act operates in these circumstances. In May, about 50 people were arrested during a Pride event. The juveniles were sent to juvenile court, and some were cleared and released without any charges. Ultimately, only nine people made it all the way through the initial court appearances.

Marubio’s statement not to release the protestors quickly could potentially violate the new Pretrial Fairness Act signed by former Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker. Illinois has become the first state in the U.S. to entirely abolish cash bail starting September 18, 2023, a massive win for criminals.

The Gateway Pundit reported last year that the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Pretrial Fairness Act provision of the Safety, Accountability, Equity, Transparency-today Act, meaning that cash bail will be eliminated in Illinois.

This will result in the release on no bail while awaiting court date of those accused of certain felonies, such as “second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and arson without bail, as well as drug-induced homicide, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, intimidation, aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing and eluding, drug offenses and threatening a public official.”

The new law means that 12 non-detainable offenses will no longer require a paid cash bail:

• Second-degree murder
• Aggravated battery
• Arson
• Drug-induced homicide
• Kidnapping
• Burglary
• Robbery
• Intimidation
• Aggravated fleeing and eluding
• Aggravated driving under the influence
• Drug offenses
• Threatening a public official

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