What happened at Tuesday's Pro-Palestine protests in Chicago?

Dozens of people protesting the Democratic National Convention over U.S. support for the Israeli offensive in Gaza were arrested Tuesday night after a violent confrontation with the police.

The Associated Press reported that Chicago police took at least 55 people into custody and that three of those were apparently journalists.

What happened at the protest?

Protesters had gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in the West Loop area of downtown Chicago, around two miles from the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention is being held.

Some members apparently approached a line of police to confront them before striking and throwing signs at officers, according to NBC News.

The protesters then marched through the streets. They were stopped by police and continued marching several times before being finally halted at the intersection of Monroe and Canal streets.

Later in the night, when most of the arrests happened, Chicago police reportedly “ kettled ” protesters, blocking them from leaving that area and dispersing, the AP reported. Department of Justice rules bar the practice and Superintendent Larry Snelling denies that it happened.

He said that officers had done everything they could to de-escalate the situation but that was not enough to prevent violence.

Protests on Monday were mostly peaceful, though a small group had broken off and reportedly dismantled sections of a perimeter fence and some of them entered a restricted area around the United Center. That much larger protest of around 3,500 people resulted in only 13 arrests.

Who was behind Tuesday night’s protest?

Tuesday night’s protest was organized by a group called Behind Enemy Lines under the slogan “Make it great like ’68,” an allusion to large and chaotic protests against the war in Vietnam, held at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, also in Chicago.

NBC News reported that another group, Samidoun, was also involved.

Behind Enemy Lines is unaffiliated with other groups permitted to protest the convention.

“Dozens of people were brutally arrested outside the Israeli consulate by (Chicago Mayor) Brandon Johnson's thugs defending the genocidal criminals inside the DNC,” a Behind Enemy Lines Instagram post from Tuesday reads.

Unlike other groups set to protest in Chicago this week, Behind Enemy Lines did not have a permit to hold a demonstration.

The U.S. Palestinian Community Network is scheduled to protest closer to the United Center on Wednesday, according to the AP. WBEZ reported that the Coalition to March on the DNC — the same group with demonstrated Monday — is set to hold a mile-long march and a rally in Union Park on Thursday. It had requested to extend its route to two miles but was denied.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What happened at Tuesday's Pro-Palestine protests in Chicago?