Leftist Coalition Threatens to ‘Cancel’ Democratic National Convention

A coalition of Marxist and other left-wing organizations are warning delegates to the Democratic National Convention about what they can expect when they arrive in Chicago this August.

A self-avowed “anti-imperialist” group calling itself “Behind Enemy Lines” (BEL) has issued an online call for volunteers to converge on downtown Chicago from August 9th to August 28th.

One post incites students and youths to board downtown rapid transit cars talking to riders and “agitating” against American imperialism, the Democratic National Committee, and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

BEL is also organizing what it calls a “mass outreach.”  It includes a campaign to plaster the downtown area with posters proclaiming, “Genocide Joe (Biden) Is Not Welcome in Chicago.”

As part of a planned door-to-door visitation program, activists are directed to “struggle with people” to sign a pledge promising not to vote for Mr. Biden.

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One post describes the vote pledge as a “commitment” not to vote for Mr. Biden or anyone who voices support for Israel’s “genocidal war on Gaza or its ongoing occupation of Palestine,” or who supports U.S. military aid and funding for Israel.

The volunteer canvassers are also told to invite people to “neighborhood speak-outs” at which orators will “connect U.S. imperialist crimes abroad to the slow genocide of Black and oppressed people taking place in Chicago.”

The canvassers are also instructed to invite listeners to join protests at pre-convention meetings of the Democratic National Committee and the convention itself, which will be held at the United Center.

According to one online posting, the avowed purpose of the demonstrations is to “Disrupt and harass pro-genocide politicians…and complicit institutions. No business as usual, while genocidal war is being carried out.”

“We’re calling on students and youth to be bold and audacious, take to the frontlines,” to provoke “police beatings and arrests to oppose Genocide Joe,” the post said.

“Join existing protests or organize new protests. Push them in the most militant direction possible,” said a similar post.

Another posting reads, “The empire is the enemy. From the belly of the beast, we choose to resist it.’

BEL’s mission statement promises to “promote a culture of resistance.

“People who live in the United States must betray the imperial consensus and refuse to accept the legitimacy, normalcy, and permanence of the empire.”

Preparations and recruitment are already underway for mass organizational meetings and literature drops in Chicago neighborhoods, shopping centers, transit hubs, churches, and around high schools, to build support in advance of the convention.

Preparing for a ‘Powder Keg’

The Chicago Police Department, already strapped by staffing problems and stretched thin by the arrival of thousands of illegal aliens into the city, has been busy preparing for the event, bolstered by a $50 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department.

At a recent press conference, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling stated that, although the department was dedicated to “constitutional” policing, “violence and vandalism will not be tolerated.”

“We will enforce the law and keep the city safe,” he said.

In 1968, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago was beset with violence as police clashed heavily with demonstrators in the streets.

The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security issued a warning in February about the potential for civil unrest by domestic and foreign actors.

Conservative Chicago-area education activist Terry Newsome told The Epoch Times that he fears that the mix of Democrat officials and delegates, the world media, anti-Israel-Pro-Palestinian protesters, thousands of illegal aliens, and angry black city residents bristling over perceived slights by their own government, will make downtown Chicago a “powder keg this summer.”

The Chicago Public Schools system is considering delaying the start of school by a week because of logistical and safety concerns surrounding the Democratic National Convention.