Heavy police presence for DNC as Chicago businesses board up windows, anticipating possible violence: 'Like a police state'

Cops from various law enforcement agencies have converged on Chicago in anticipation of possible violence erupting in the protests surrounding the Democratic National Convention.

Lines of police officers on foot, on bikes, and even on boats can be seen all over Chicago, according to the Daily Mail.

'We know from past experiences something could ensue so we want to be proactive and get ahead of it.'

"This is the most that we'll ever see in one setting, which is crazy, but I feel like it's a good reason that it's a lot of police out here, because there's so many people just in one area," said local resident Ayanna Tucker.

The officers are keeping an eye on the thousands of left-leaning protesters who have flooded the city to denounce an array of issues, including continued hostilities in Gaza and alleged racism in the U.S. criminal justice system, as Blaze News previously reported.

"[We're] here to shout so, oh, so loudly, so clearly that Palestinian liberation is reproductive justice," one protesting speaker said.

"You're killing us. We're tired. We're tired of being killed. We're tired of going to jail. We're tired of our men and women going to jail. We're tired of the police killing. ... I hope that they are listening to us, and I hope they do something about it," added another.

"Harris represents the administration; she represents Biden. There is nothing that she has expressed," added Hatem Abudayyeh, the national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and chief organizer of some of the protests, according to the New York Post.

Thus far, the protests have been emotionally charged but still peaceful, and the FBI has stated that it "is not aware of any specific and articulable threats related to the DNC."

However, many windows in the city's business district have already been boarded up, just in case, according to WGN.

"We know from past experiences something could ensue, so we want to be proactive and get ahead of it," said Scott Shapiro of Syd Jerome, a menswear store located along the route to the United Center, where the DNC will take place.

"It’s better to be safe than sorry."

One local company designed to safeguard businesses from possible civic unrest, Chicago Board Up Services, has already reportedly received a dozen requests for assistance as the DNC gets underway.

"If you feel you’re in any type of line where you feel there’s going to be a lot of commotion — we’re not pushing it — we’re hoping the city will be comfortable and there wont [sic] be no unrest. But if you feel you want your doors boarded, it’s better to have them boarded up than have to wait and replace glass," said Chicago Board Up Services business manager Vicki Fichter.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling have both attempted to calm public fears about possible violence like that which followed the death of George Floyd four years ago.

"To assuage people’s concerns, the only thing that I can say is we’re really good at this," Johnson said. "I understand why people might have some trepidation because you have elements in this world that want to take us back to a very dark path. … But here’s one thing that I know for sure, as a social studies teacher, our democracy will not only survive, we will come out stronger."

"We're going to make sure that people have their First Amendment rights protected, that they can do that in a safe way," Johnson told the AP.

"We will not allow people to come here and destroy this city," Snelling added.

The increase in police officers is especially notable considering the anti-police fervor that swept through Democratic circles in 2020. Even current Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris publicly supported the "defund the police" movement a couple of months before Joe Biden selected her to be his running mate on the 2020 Democratic ticket.

"This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities," Harris said on a radio program in June 2020, according to CNN.

"Part of what we have to do here is also look at the militarization of police departments and, and the kind of money that is going to that. And we need to demilitarize police departments," she continued.

"At its core, one of the issues that I think we should all agree on is that it is old thinking. It is outdated and is actually wrong and backward to think that more police officers will create more safety."

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