Protesters confront Chicago police at Israeli consulate on day 2 of DNC

Chicago police has clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Israeli consulate on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

Protesters, demanding end to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, on Tuesday chanted "Let them go!" as police handcuffed at least four people and led them away from the demonstration. Officers carrying wooden clubs shouted "move" and penned the demonstrators in on the street, preventing them from marching.

Some protestors carried Palestinian flags, while many others wore black and covered their faces.

As protesters regrouped and approached a line of police in riot gear in front of a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate, an officer said into a megaphone, "You are ordered to immediately disburse."

A woman in the front of the march shouted back with her own megaphone: "We’re not scared of you."

A man in Chicago Bulls hat, his face covered by a balaclava, called on protesters to "shut down the DNC."

The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of over 200 groups that organised Monday's protests, advertised the demonstration on Tuesday under the slogan of "Make it great like ’68," invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The atmosphere with rows of police in riot gear was a stark contrast to a day earlier when thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, including families pushing babies in strollers, marched near the convention site calling for a ceasefire.

Police kept protesters confined to a block of Madison Street, a normally bustling downtown thoroughfare where traffic was halted on both ends on Tuesday evening.

Law enforcement had closed down most of the entrances to the building on Tuesday, allowing commuters to come in only one entrance where armed officers were also posted. Many of the building’s shops were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for the Metra commuter rail service, said train service was running as normal.

More protests planned

The consulate has been the site of numerous demonstrations since Israel's war on Gaza began in October. It is in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.

Meanwhile, the sites of demonstrations from the previous night were largely quiet. Thirteen people were arrested during Monday's protests, most them related to a "brief breach" of security fencing "within sight and sound of the United Center," the city’s police superintendent said.

More protests were planned throughout the week.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said on Tuesday that the vast majority of the protesters were peaceful.

However, police clashed with some protestors, who threw water bottles at officers and used pepper spray against them during the confrontation in the park where there was a breach in security fencing, Snelling said. He said officers did not use any chemical sprays.

"Our officers showed great restraint," he said at a news conference. “We’re going to continue to protect the city.”

Snelling said with more protests planned, his department is prepared to de-escalate situations whenever possible.

The park where the most arrests were made, located a block from the convention arena, served as a destination point for a march of thousands calling for a ceasefire in the Israel's war on Gaza. Several dozen activists broke off from the main group, breached the fencing, and were pushed back by police.

Authorities said the inner security perimeter surrounding the United Center was not breached and there was no threat to those attending the convention.

On Tuesday morning, an extra line of fencing was installed at the park and the tall metal barriers were reinforced to prevent protesters from lifting and removing the panels. No police officers or protesters were in the park on early Tuesday.

The 13 people arrested during Monday's protest were detained on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest, to aggravated battery of police officers, Snelling said.

At least 10 of them were arrested in connection with the fence, he said.

Two people were also arrested on misdemeanor property damage and resisting arrest charges during a protest march on Sunday night. As of Tuesday morning, 15 people had been arrested.

Most of the largest demonstrations have been organised by the Coalition to March on the DNC, which has focused on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But smaller protests have popped up around the city, during the convention’s welcome party at Navy Pier.