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Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators Clash with Police in Chicago During Democratic National Convention

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Multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested on Tuesday night after clashing with police during a protest outside the Israeli consulate in Chicago. The protest, which took place on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, spilled onto the surrounding streets and resulted in intense confrontations with law enforcement.

The clashes began shortly after the demonstration started, with some protesters—many dressed in black with their faces covered—charging at a police line that blocked them from marching. Although the protesters managed to push past the officers, they were repeatedly corralled by police in riot gear throughout the night, preventing them from dispersing.

According to the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which provided legal observers for the protest, at least 72 people were arrested. A significant portion of the arrests occurred at the end of the night when police confined the remaining demonstrators in a plaza, blocking them from leaving. Despite accusations of “kettling,” a tactic involving the corralling of protesters that is banned under a federal consent decree, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling denied that this tactic was used.

Snelling praised the police response, calling it proportional and asserting that some protesters had intended to incite violence. “We have people who showed up here to commit acts of violence,” he told reporters, though he did not provide specific details or a final arrest count.

Earlier in the evening, tensions escalated as some demonstrators set an American flag on fire in the street. This occurred as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place inside the United Center, approximately two miles away.

As the protesters regrouped near the Israeli consulate, they were met by a line of police in riot gear. Despite being ordered to disperse, demonstrators continued their march, with some shouting defiantly at the officers.

The protest group was not affiliated with the coalition of over 200 organizations that had organized a peaceful pro-Palestinian march near the convention site a day earlier. Tuesday’s demonstrators adopted the slogan “Make it great like ’68,” referencing the anti-Vietnam War protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

While Tuesday’s protest resulted in arrests and confrontations, the atmosphere contrasted sharply with Monday’s demonstrations, where thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, including families, marched peacefully near the convention site to call for a ceasefire.

The Israeli consulate, which has been a frequent site of demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October, is located in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station. Law enforcement had closed most of the building’s entrances during Tuesday’s protest, allowing entry only through a single access point guarded by armed officers.

Amid the escalating tensions, Mohammed Ismail, a 29-year-old psychiatry resident, criticized the police response as excessive. “It’s not right that we’re sending our tax money to fund an ongoing slaughter, an ongoing genocide,” Ismail said, explaining that he joined the protest to urge Democrats to halt U.S. funding to Israel.

Earlier in the day, Israel supporters gathered at a nearby pro-Israel art installation to call on U.S. leaders to continue backing Israel and push for the release of hostages taken by Hamas. The installation featured giant milk cartons bearing photos of some of the hostages. Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, condemned the pro-Palestinian protests and urged U.S. leaders to stand firmly with Israel.

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Elections

Canada Beefs up Border Security After Trump Threatened Sweeping Tariffs

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In November, president-elect Donald Trump announced on social media that he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico if they do not take an active role in containing illegal immigration as well as the level of illicit drugs entering into the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, after which the Canadian government vowed to secure the border. “We got, I think, a mutual understanding of what they’re concerned about in terms of border security,” Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc, who accompanied Trudeau at Mar-a-Largo, said of the meeting in an interview with Canadian media. “All of their concerns are shared by Canadians and by the government of Canada.”

“We talked about the security posture currently at the border that we believe to be effective, and we also discussed additional measures and visible measures that we’re going to put in place over the coming weeks,” LeBlanc continued. “And we also established, Rosemary, a personal series of rapport that I think will continue to allow us to make that case.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation reports the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is preparing to beef up its immigration enforcement capabilities by hiring more staff, adding more vehicles and creating more processing facilities, in the chance that there is an immigration surge sparked by Trump’s presidential election victory. The moves are a change in direction from Trudeau’s public declaration in January 2017 that Canada was a “welcoming” country and that “diversity is our strength” just days after Trump was sworn into office the first time.

The Daily Caller notes the differences in response from the Canadian government verses Mexico’s:

Trudeau’s recent overtures largely differ from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has indicated she is not willing to bend the knee to Trump’s tariff threats. The Mexican leader in November said “there will be a response in kind” to any tariff levied on Mexican goods going into the U.S., and she appeared to deny the president-elect’s claims that she agreed to do more to beef up border security in a recent phone call.

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