Radical anti-Israel groups en route to a protest against the Democratic National Convention are urging their young members to up the ante and prepare for a bloody battle with police.
“Make Chicago Police Baton Bruises the Fall Trend for Back-to-School 2024!” the so-called anti-imperialist organization Behind Enemy Lines urged its members on its website.
“Have you fought the Chicago police yet?” the group wrote on its website, calling on “anti-imperialist students and youth” to “flood the city.”
The organization, which was identified by law enforcement in early August as a potential threat to the DNC, also instructs its members to “go to the front lines with courage and boldness and, yes, accept beatings and arrests by police to confront Genocide Joe.”
A section of his website titled “DNC Dispatch” contains several blog posts that address “the important political and practical questions facing the fight against Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala.”
The most recently published book is entitled “Who Says Protesting Should Be Safe?” and asks whether a protest can be “successful” if it does not “disrupt the normal functioning of a society.”
“Why do people in the United States have the right to put their own safety first?” asks the unnamed author.
The article also accuses the left of avoiding confrontations with the police and encourages young activists to “view protests and demonstrations as political struggles” and “take risks”.
The text of the post – or what the group calls a “DNC message” – was shared on Instagram last week by another anti-Israel group planning to attend the DNC protests, Palestine Action US.
Palestine Action US also has a history of violence, particularly on college campuses. The group has come under fire for praising several arson attacks at UC Berkeley, including the burning of a university police car, and calling for the entire campus to be “incinerated.”
The group’s Instagram account is full of pro-militant content, including tips on building barricades on college campuses, guides on protecting yourself from police batons, infographics on how to best “pressurize” during confrontations, and even tips on how to avoid police arrest – known as “de-arrest” – “to ensure the safety of comrades.”
Although the March Coalition spokesperson stressed that the event would be “family-friendly,” the organization has made it clear that it does not intend to condemn the protesters’ violence.
“Diversity of tactics means we will not condemn the various forms of protest that people engage in during the week of the DNC,” the coalition posted on X.
However, the city of Chicago is not taking any chances. Police said they have been preparing for the event for over a year.
“It is 1968. Our officers are trained differently,” Police Commissioner Larry Snelling said in his letter to reporters, referring to the violent clashes with police that took place at the last DNC convention in Chicago.
“The department has evolved. Our officers have evolved. We’ve been training for this event for over a year, so preparation is key.”
Chicago police say they are being assisted in securing the venue by a total of 17 different agencies, including the Secret Service. The police officers assigned to secure the event have been trained in the First and Fourth Amendments and in de-escalation tactics.
“We will not allow people to come here and destroy the city,” Mr Snelling insisted.
