Protesters face police in Chicago

Protesters face police in Chicago

CHICAGO : Protesters streamed into downtown Chicago Sunday for one of the city's largest demonstrations in years - a march to the lakeside convention center hosting a historic Nato summit.

Screen grab from WGN Chicago shows confrontation between police and protesters early Monday Thailand time.

The largest demonstration of the summit weekend ended late Sunday with a tense scuffle between protesters and police, with officers wielding batons and some demonstrators throwing bottles and other debris.

There was no official tally on injuries, but seven demonstrators were treated at one hospital. Police had no information on any officers who were injured. There were hundreds of demonstrators when the confrontation began, but the crowd thinned considerably as police held their ground and slowly pushed the demonstrators away.

Peace activists joined with war veterans and people more focused on the economy for the protest, which was expected to draw thousands of participants. They walked 2-1/2 miles Monday morning (Thailand time) to the site where President Barack Obama and other world leaders were meeting to discuss the war in Afghanistan, European missile defense and other issues.

Obama had earlier moved the G8 summit out of Chicago in order to spare world leaders the protests.

On Sunday, it began escalating. Marchers arrived at Grant Park with signs denouncing Nato, including ones that read: "War=Debt" and "NATO, Go Home."

As a massive anti-war rally ended Sunday afternoon, police and demonstrators scuffled just blocks from where Nato dignitaries were meeting.

Police and demonstration leaders urged calm, but several hundred protesters pushed repeatedly against a line of police dressed in full riot gear - and police donned gas masks.

Officers lined up four deep in a show of strength, hoping to keep the demonstrators at bay. As the crowd surged forward, some officers swung their batons.

One protester had blood pouring from the side of his head.

Moments earlier, a group of veterans had taken the stage holding an American flag.

Some in the crowd chanted "Burn that flag! Burn that flag!" The veterans then folded the flag and handed it to Mary Kirkland, whose son was killed on his second tour in Iraq.

"I'm here to protest NATO, which I feel is the enforcement arm of the ruling 1 per cent - of the capitalist 1 per cent," said protester John Schraufnagel, who took a bus from Minneapolis to Chicago.

Sunday's protest followed several smaller demonstrations over the previous two days, including a march Saturday to the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff.

Police and activists clashed repeatedly Saturday evening in a series of pushing and shoving confrontations in the main downtown area called the Loop, following a day of cat-and-mouse marches that tested the physical and mental stamina of both sides.

Police and activists clashed repeatedly Saturday evening in a series of pushing and shoving confrontations in the main downtown area called the Loop, following a day of cat-and-mouse marches that tested the physical and mental stamina of both sides.

The crowd remained largely peaceful and there were no reports of major damage. Police likewise accomplished a goal of keeping protesters away from the glizty Michigan Avenue retail district, where many Nato dignitaries are staying.

A mob wielding batons and hammers entered the Ashford House restaurant Sunday and began attacking patrons.

Police called the melee a targeted assault by 18 young men, all wearing hooded jackets obscuring their faces. Ten diners were hurt in the attack, and three of those were hospitalised.

Hackers attacked the City of Chicago's official website, putting it off the internet with a "denial of service attack".

The statement said, quoting verbatim: "let us unite and show the violent Chicago police, and the government big brother tactic's that we are not gonna take this."

A YouTube video attributed to Anonymous and a previously unknown AntiS3curityOPS claimed the hackers started "an operation toward the Chicago police department and its websites".

Five men have been arrested and charged with planning terrorism to disrupt the meeting.

Just before the summit, police arrested and charged three activists with terrorism.

A Cook County judge ordered the trio held on $1.5 million (47 million baht) bail each, and their legal plight quickly offered a new rallying point for protesters who dubbed them the "NATO 3".

The men were charged with making Molotov cocktails to throw at the protests on Sunday. They allegedly planned to attack Obama's campaign headquarters and the home of Chicago mayor and major Obama supporter Rahm Emanuel, prosecutors alleged.

The men were arrested in a raid that defence attorneys said was nothing more than a scare tactic designed to quell protests planned around the meeting of world leaders in the city.

"We believe this is all a setup and entrapment to the highest degree," defense attorney Michael Deutsch told reporters.

On Sunday, police announced the arrest of two more on charges of terrorism and making a false threat. They were also accused of planning to make Molotov cocktails to be used during the summit.

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