Protesters rallied outside the Democratic National Convention on its opening day Monday, saying they were determined to voice their opposition to the war in Gaza and other issues. Chicago officials said they were committed to keeping the demonstrations peaceful.Video above: Protests just steps away from the United Center pushing for cease fireAt one point on Monday, a group of several dozen activists, who had separated from a larger march advocating for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, were removed from a restricted area by police, including those led by Superintendent Larry Snelling.Police wearing helmets with masks attached formed a line along a fence, which had been previously breached and still had several panels missing, while some activists shouted at them. Several protesters who had managed to get through the fence were detained and handcuffed by the police.A DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center statement said that while demonstrators breached a portion of anti-scale fencing along the DNC outer perimeter near the United Center on Monday, "law enforcement personnel were immediately on-scene and contained the situation. At no point was the inner perimeter breached, and there was no threat to any protectees." Protesters said their plans have not changed since President Joe Biden left the race and the party quickly rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the Democratic nomination this week. Activists said they were ready to amplify their progressive message before the nation's top Democratic leaders.맥스카지노�We have to play our part in the belly of the beast to stop the genocide, to end U.S. aid to Israel and stand with Palestine,맥스카지노� said Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC, which includes hundreds of organizations.Mayor Brandon Johnson said authorities were well prepared. 맥스카지노�The city of Chicago is really good at things like this,맥스카지노� he told a news conference. 맥스카지노�We are ready.맥스카지노�The Chicago area has one of the largest Palestinian communities in the nation, and buses were bringing activists from all over the country. Organizers said they hoped the turnout for Monday맥스카지노�s march and rally would be at least 20,000 people.Taylor Cook, an organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, traveled from Atlanta for the march. Cook said the group was pushing all Democrats to call for an end to aid to Israel, with a particular focus on Harris.맥스카지노�We맥스카지노�re saying to Kamala, she has been complicit in this. People think it맥스카지노�s just Joe Biden, but she is vice president,맥스카지노� Cook said. 맥스카지노�So we맥스카지노�re saying, you need to stop if you want our vote.맥스카지노�Medea Benjamin, 71, who traveled to Chicago from Washington, D.C., with a women-led group of protesters calling for peace, said she was shocked that the Biden administration recently approved an additional $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel.맥스카지노�There맥스카지노�s an incredible discrepancy in what people are calling for in this country and what the administration is doing,맥스카지노� she said, speaking ahead of a rally in Union Park. 맥스카지노�We맥스카지노�re so disgusted by this.맥스카지노�Activists say they learned lessons from last month맥스카지노�s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. They expect bigger crowds and more robust demonstrations in Chicago.Pro-Palestinian supporters descended on the park, west of the Loop business district, for a rally. They planned to march a short distance to a site near the United Center, where the convention is taking place.Around 40 pro-Israel supporters walked around the park during the rally. The pro-Israel counter-protesters, who mainly remained silent while waving Israeli flags, were accompanied by about 20 police officers on bicycles. Although tensions flared at times, there were no physical altercations.Josh Weiner, co-founder of Chicago Jewish Alliance who walked with the pro-Israel group, said their intent was to 맥스카지노�make our presence felt.맥스카지노�Weiner said the group applied for permits that were not approved by the city.맥스카지노�The pro-Palestine protesters have gotten multiple permits, including a march, which seems to be a little bit weighted on one side,맥스카지노� Weiner said.Police Superintendent Larry Snelling praised police and march organizers for a peaceful Sunday night protest calling for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and an end to the war in Gaza. Chicago police said two people were arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting police and damaging property.맥스카지노�Listen, it맥스카지노�s this simple. The Chicago Police Department is here to protect everyone in this city,맥스카지노� Snelling said. 맥스카지노�What we will not tolerate is intimidation. We we will not tolerate violence.맥스카지노�Protester issues include climate change, abortion rights and racial equality, to name a few, but many agree that pressing for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war is the top message of the demonstrations. They have likened it to the Vietnam War of their generation.Chicago, which has hosted more political conventions than any other U.S. city, has been unable to escape comparisons to the infamous 1968 convention where police and anti-Vietnam War protesters violently clashed on live television.Some businesses boarded up their windows as a precaution, and county courts said they would open more space in case of mass arrests. Chicago police say officers have undergone extensive training on constitutional policing and de-escalation tactics.Coalition activists and the city have been at odds over the location of the protests and other logistics. A judge sided with the city over an approximately 1-mile march route, which organizers argue isn't big enough for the expected crowds. Abudayyeh said the coalition would continue to push for a much longer route.Not a single speaker or spectator showed up by early afternoon to a speakers맥스카지노� stage offered by city officials near the United Center. Eight groups with progressive agendas had signed up for 45-minute speaking slots on Monday. On other days, some conservative groups, including the Illinois Policy Institute, have plans to speak.Also Monday, the Philadelphia-based Poor People맥스카지노�s Army, which advocates for economic justice, planned to set up at Humboldt Park on the city's northwest side to feature events with third-party presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West, plus a 3-mile march.Aside from the protests, the city is also hosting a speakers맥스카지노� stage at a park outside the convention center with 45-minute time slots. Most of the organizations that have signed up have the same progressive agenda as the coalition, but the list also includes the Israeli American Council and the conservative-leaning Illinois Policy Institute. A local firefighters union hopes to call attention to their contract fight with the city.맥스카지노�The First Amendment is fundamental to our democracy,맥스카지노� Johnson, a former union organizer, told the AP in an interview last week. 맥스카지노�I맥스카지노�ll do everything in my power to protect the right to assemble in protest.맥스카지노�