Pro-Palestine protesters kept up the pressure on day three of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Wednesday, even as the police blocked their path outside the United Center venue.
Inside was a heady mix of celebrity fanfare, while Tim Walz accepted his vice president nomination to adoring fans and Bill Clinton took centre stage to swipe at Trump.
Here are some key takeaways from the third night of the DNC.
The Uncommitted National Movement is a group that won 30 delegates to the convention and is using the political process to pressure the Democratic Party to do more to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Delegates staged a sit-in outside the DNC on Wednesday after the movement was told its Palestinian-American speaker had been denied permission to speak on the convention’s main stage.
The sit-in had not been planned, one of the group’s leaders, Abbas Alawieh, told the Guardian newspaper. “We didn’t come here to do a sit-in, we’re just sitting here waiting for a call,” he said.
A wall of dozens of police officers blocked the road leading to the security perimeter around the venue to keep pro-Palestinian protesters at bay on Wednesday.
media witnessed the violent arrest of two hijab-wearing women who appeared to be singled out by police before being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed. Despite repeated questions from media about why they were arresting the women, police at the scene did not respond.
Chicago is home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the United States. Lizette Garza, a social justice activist who was among the protesters outside the DNC, told media that people of various backgrounds in the city were “grieving” for the atrocities in Gaza alongside Palestinians.
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