We don’t know how many people in Gaza have been killed by the US-Israel war machine since the Chicago DNC. We do know that when Israel violated the ceasefire on March 18th, more than 400 people were killed. We know that on March 23rd, in Rafah, a city that has basically been wiped off the face of the earth, that 15 aid workers were executed at close range by Israel. We know that on April 17th, 8 children sheltering in a “safe zone” were incinerated by an Israeli airstrike. We know that for more than 60 days, an Israeli blockade has prevented all deliveries of food, medicine, water, and fuel from reaching the suffering people of Gaza. 

While US-made bombs were pounding Gaza, Chicago’s progressive mayor Brandon Johnson was busy prosecuting people for protesting the Gaza genocide during the DNC. After 50 people, including several journalists were arrested during the 8/20 police riot, Johnson and his Corporation Council Mary Richardson-Lowry could have dropped the charges on protesters and simply declined to prosecute, as the State’s Attorney did in most DNC cases. Instead city prosecutors relentlessly pursued charges against protesters, even once it became clear that the charges were entirely baseless. 

We’re here today to celebrate the fact that 10 people among the 8/20 protesters who were facing city charges all refused plea offers and demanded their day in court, and over the last 2 months, each and every one of those cases was either dropped or resulted in a verdict of not liable. In the cases it brought to trial, the city could not prove it’s low burden to secure convictions on city ordinance violations against DNC protesters. Despite the stunning losses in court, Brandon Johnson is still referring to the 50 Million dollar show of force during the genocide convention as “Constitutional policing”, including justifying recent cases of CPD murder. 

So, Mayor Johnson: was it “constitutional policing” when DNC protesters were arrested so violently they had to be hospitalized? Was it “constitutional policing” when one transgender woman was threatened with sexual assault by the CPD, and another was held overnight in a men’s cell? Was it “constitutional policing” when protesters were targeted for arrest because they were holding flags? Or when other protesters were kettled by the police and not allowed to leave and placed under arrest? If the policing of the DNC was “constitutional”, why was the city unable to win a single case in court? 

While facing city ordinance violations is a relatively small nuisance compared to the repression directed at people like Mahmoud Khalil, we believe that the repression against Palestine protesters in Chicago is part and parcel of nationwide bipartisan campaign of repression and suppression against pro-Palestine speech and expression. It’s not just the outrageous waste of time and resources during the DNC to suppress protected first amendment activity, but also the CPD repression of the student encampments at DePaul and SAIC, and the constant presence of CPD at every pro-Palestine protest in the City of Chicago. It’s right to rebel against genocide, and all of the charges brought against DNC protesters are bogus and politically motivated. We’re proud to have stood with the people who beat the city charges over the last two months, and we’ll continue to stand with the remaining DNC protesters facing charges. 

Brandon Johnson, City of Chicago, who made the decision to prosecute dozens of protesters? Who made the decision to continue to prosecute those cases once you started losing them? How much time and money went into the surveillance and repression of Behind Enemy Lines during the DNC, and to prosecute protesters in the intervening 8 months? And most importantly: Brandon Johnson, once and for all–which side are you on? The side of genocide, or the people throwing down against it?