Pro-Palestinian activists sought to bring attention to the war in Gaza during President Joe Biden’s speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
According to reporters inside the convention hall, some people in the audience held up a banner, featuring the colors of the Palestinian flag, that read, “STOP ARMING ISRAEL,” minutes into Biden’s speech.
A protest banner is partially blocked during President Joe Biden's remarks at the Democratic National Convention Monday in Chicago.
Videos shared of the incident on social media show those seated in front of the protesters holding up their “I [heart] Joe” signs to block the sight of the banner as security officials repeatedly tried to pull it down. Some in the audience also broke into “We love Joe” chants.
A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Akela Lacey of The Intercept shows a man standing a few rows behind the protesters hitting one of them on the head with a pro-Biden sign. In a follow-up post, Lacey wrote that eventually the man’s “colleagues got him to stop.”
Organizers turned off the lights in that section of the auditorium as the activists were escorted out.
A protest banner is removed by a law enforcement officers as Biden speaks during the Democratic National Convention Monday.
The Associated Press reported the activists belonged to the “Abandon Biden” movement, which was recently renamed to “Abandon Harris” to reflect the change at the top of the Democratic ticket. The group has been calling on Americans to withhold their vote for Democrats over the party’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
A different group of activists present in the room turned their backs on Biden while he was delivering his address, holding one hand over their mouths, while displaying a sign reading “not another bomb” in the other, according to NBC News .
Biden spent part of his speech referring to his administration’s efforts to strike a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“I will keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza, and bring peace and security to the Middle East,” he said.
Meanwhile, Biden also addressed the pro-Palestinian protests in Chicago.
“Those protesters out in the street, they have a point,” Biden said. “A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”
Thousands of people took part in a peaceful march to protest the administration’s continued support for Israel. A few dozen then proceeded to break down a fence outside the convention, and some of those who made it past the security parameter were arrested, according to the AP .
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with officials from Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas. Blinken on Monday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to the U.S. proposal, urging the militant group to do the same.
So far, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, Gaza officials say. The war was prompted by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, where over 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.
The Israeli military on Tuesday announced it recovered the bodies of six dead hostages in Khan Younis.
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