Around a thousand demonstrators surrounded the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in a display of protest against the American Legislative Exchange Council. The council is holding its 40th national conference deep within the dark underbelly of the Palmer House.
Many demonstrators maintain that ALEC forms an ideological nexus where money and politics conspire to corrupt our democracy.
While most of the protesters were peaceful in their demonstrations, there were several incidents of violence and arrest. The disruption to the generally peaceful protest came when the Black Bloc Anarchists arrived.
The BBA group was encouraging the other demonstrators to break through the police barricades while chanting, “whose streets? our streets!”
This tall gentleman seemed to be extremely hostile. This capture was taken just prior to him screaming in my face, “I hope you die!” BBA members apparently have little regard for freedom of speech or the press, as I was attacked by several group members for taking photographs, forcing me to employ a little Stand Your Ground Law. I have now been assaulted by both the Chicago Police, and left-wing political groups associated with the 99% movement for taking photos on public streets.
On the other side, the Chicago Police pummeled this young man. In my opinion, the cops were over the top with this guy. He was yelling, “I’m not resisting! I’m not resisting!” yet they continued to twist the man’s body into painful contortions.
Police generally don’t strike people, opting instead for the old twist your bones out of their sockets approach. This way they can cause great pain and injury without leaving marks or broken bones. They are also trained to encircle the person being violated so that cameras have a hard time capturing what is going on. In many ways, the police are nothing more than the official street gang that’s on government payroll.
Overall, the vast majority of people demonstrated peaceably or employed traditional non-violent civil disobedience.
VIDEO: ALEC Convention Protest – Palmer House Hilton Hotel