More Than 50 Protesters Detained After They Tried To Storm Barricades Outside DNC
PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police briefly detained more than 50 people after they tried to storm the barricades outside the Democratic convention Monday evening in a show of anger over Bernie Sanders' treatment by party leaders, even as he urged his supporters to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton.
Several hundred Sanders supporters and other demonstrators converged in the sweltering heat on Broad Street and made their way 4 miles to the convention site as the gathering was being gaveled to order, chanting "Nominate Sanders or lose in November!" and "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the DNC has got to go!" They carried signs reading, "Never Hillary," "Just Go to Jail Hillary" and "You Lost Me at Hillary."
As tensions mounted outside the Wells Fargo Center, police moved metal fences into place and closed the nearest subway station to arriving trains. Fifty-five people were issued citations for disorderly conduct when protesters tried to climb over police barricades at the edge of the security zone surrounding the convention, police said.
Protesters carried signs that read, "Never Hillary," "Just Go to Jail Hillary" and "You Lost Me at Hillary."
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Destine Madu, a protester from Maplewood, New Jersey, said it doesn't matter if Sanders is calling on his backers to support Hillary Clinton.
"He's like a Moses," she said. "He led us to the promised land."
This comes as CBS News reported the Sanders camp reached out to the Clinton campaign because they are worried that tensions are still raw among their delegates over the DNC email controversy, and are concerned supporters might take action and disrupt Monday night's proceedings.
Sanders said in a text to delegates, "I ask you as a personal courtesy to me to not engage in any kind of protest on the floor."
The protests took shape amid a punishing heat wave, with oppressive humidity and temperatures in the mid-90s, along with the possibility of severe thunderstorms in the evening. The Fire Department handed out bottled water, and at least one woman was put in an ambulance by stretcher.
The demonstrators espoused a variety of causes, including economic justice, socialism and marijuana legalization. With Sanders out of the race, some of them were backing Green Party candidate Jill Streen.
Although planned for months, the marches came as fissures widened in the party. Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned Sunday as Democratic Party chairwoman over leaked emails suggesting the supposedly neutral Democratic National Committee played favorites for Clinton during the primaries and bad-mouthed Sanders.
The DNC has offered a "sincere apology" to Sanders and supporters for "inexcusable remarks" in emails.
About 100 Sanders supporters made their way into Philadelphia by marching across the Ben Franklin Bridge from Camden, New Jersey. Among them was Jim Glidden, a salesman from Batavia, New York. He carried a big sign saying the DNC stands for "Dishonest Nefarious Corrupt."
"Only one guy is telling the truth out there," he said, referring to Sanders. "And the DNC shut him up with lies and cheating."
Another participant in the bridge march, Deborah Armstrong, of Spokane, Washington, said she and her husband went bankrupt because of his health problems, which required a heart transplant.
"I'm Bernie or bust," she said. "I'm not going to have Trump held up to our head like a gun."
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross was again on scene of the protests, watching as he did on Sunday as officers directed traffic and kept protesters confined to the sidewalks.
Ross said that Sunday's marches involving thousands of people were "like a scrimmage game" and that while the protests will only get bigger, he was pleased with how respectful the demonstrators have been.
Protest organizers have been thanking police and urging demonstrators not to litter. But tensions rose Monday when about 50 marchers sat on the street and refused to move unless a Mississippi flag with the Confederate emblem was taken down from a lamppost.
Two officers stood in front of the lamppost, not allowing anyone to climb it, as hecklers jeered: "Think for yourself. Be a real man."
The four-day convention is being held at the Wells Fargo Center, well removed from City Hall and the skyscrapers of Center City.
By contrast, the Republican convention last week in Cleveland was held in a bustling part of the city. A heavy police presence and fewer than expected protesters helped authorities maintain order. Only about two dozen arrests were made.
A new CBS News poll finds that Clinton and Donald Trump are tied nationally at 42 percent.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
