CNN
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Secret Service officials and Chicago police are ramping up preparations for the Democratic National Convention in August, with officers receiving training ranging from First Amendment rights to dealing with violent protests and mass arrests.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Chittle was in Chicago this week to tour the United Center, where prime-time televised convention speeches will be delivered, and McCormick Place, the convention center where the party will conduct business during the day.
The conference, which will be held from August 19-22, is expected to attract a crowd of up to 50,000 visitors – including delegates, media, vendors and others – and is also certain to be met with massive protests.
Democrats are preparing to nominate President Joe Biden for re-election at their convention in Chicago. But recent demonstrations across the country against Biden's support for Israel's war in Gaza have raised the specter of a rerun of the 1968 Democratic convention, which saw violent clashes between Chicago police and anti-Vietnam War protesters.
On Monday, Chittle addressed nearly 100 agents from the Secret Service's Chicago field office in a closed-door meeting. The Chicago field office also covers Milwaukee, where Republicans are holding their convention in July, so the team has been planning for both rallies.
Law enforcement officials are preparing for a wide range of scenarios, Cheatle said in an interview.
“The lone gunman,” said Chettle. “There are people who are extremists, there are demonstrations that might come up, and, you know, obviously we hope they stay peaceful here, but they could turn violent.”
The official security perimeter for this summer's conference has not yet been detailed. Meanwhile, the city of Chicago is negotiating protest methods with groups that filed a federal lawsuit after the city denied them protest permits.
The Chicago Police Department's Crime Prevention and Information Center will serve as its command center to monitor all convention-related events throughout the city, including protests. The command center will also include representatives from the Secret Service, Illinois State Police, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Federal and local authorities are closely monitoring the flow of threats from domestic and foreign extremist groups. A recent joint intelligence bulletin from the National Counterterrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI warned that groups, including Al-Qaeda and ISIS, continue to produce propaganda urging their followers to launch “lone wolf” attacks on U.S. soil using basic tactics such as mass shootings. Crowded vehicles or vehicles being run over. The bulletin cites an online Al-Qaeda propaganda article that highlighted “the growing division among the American people, between the right and the left, between Republicans and their supporters, and Democrats and their supporters,” which could increase the impact of any attack. attacks.
I think everyone has a feeling that the threats are real. This is not an academic exercise that we are undertaking. “We are planning for real-world possibilities,” said Jeff Burnside, Secret Service coordinator for the Democratic convention.
Meanwhile, Chicago police officers are conducting training for a wide range of potential scenarios — including violent protests, removing individuals from hostile crowds, medical emergencies and more. Bike teams prepared to move quickly through the city to form barricades if necessary.
Officers also receive constitutional and legal training on First Amendment protest rights and procedures if mass arrests are necessary.
However, Chicago police leaders say they hope hundreds of hours of training, including de-escalation techniques, will help avoid clashes with protesters.
“We don't want to get into conflicts with people if we don't have to. We don't want to get into conflicts with people if we don't have to,” Chicago Police Chief Larry Snelling said. “If people come here to express themselves, do so with all their might.” means, but do so according to the law and in a peaceful manner. Simply. “Once you start breaking the law, then…we have to restore peace.”
