The Democratic National Convention began on Monday in Chicago, with roughly 50,000 people expected to arrive in the Windy City. That includes thousands of anti-war activists demonstrating near the United Center . President Joe Biden is the headline speaker for the first evening.
Later this week, Vice President Kamala Harris will officially accept the party’s nomination. Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024 .
Here’s the Latest: A couple of protesters from the Abandon Biden movement unfurled a protest sign late Monday that read “STOP ARMING ISRAEL” in the Florida delegation section a few minutes after Biden began his speech. The group, which is pushing for third-party candidates, has been campaigning against Biden’s reelection campaign since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel’s counterattack in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated much of the territory.
The war has plunged the territory of 2.3 million people into a humanitarian catastrophe, with aid groups now fearing an outbreak of polio. The sign was quickly wrestled away from the protesters and the lights in that section of the convention were turned off.
Other convention goers responded to the protest by chanting “We love Joe” and holding up their banners in support of the president. Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s youngest child, introduced her “best friend” during an impassioned spe.