Democratic National Convention protesters win the right to pee

CHICAGO — Thousands of left-wing activists who plan to protest the Democratic National Convention next week won a court battle today, as the city government agreed to allow portable toilets where the protesters plan to march.

Previously, the City of Chicago had argued that portable toilets at Union Park, four blocks from United Center — where Vice President Kamala Harris will ceremonially accept the presidential nomination on Aug. 22 — posed a public safety risk.

The portable toilets, city officials said, could be used to launch terrorist attacks or fashioned into weapons.

“Regarding portable restrooms, these offer a space for concealment of weapons or unsanitary materials that can be used against other persons or law enforcement officers,” Bryan Gallardo, an assistant commissioner at the Chicago Department of Transportation, wrote in a letter to protest organizers on Wednesday. “They can be used as a base from which to inflict mass casualties. They may also be broken down into pieces that can be used as weapons against other persons or law enforcement officers or used to repel law enforcement.”

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Gallardo added that “CDOT is not suggesting that your particular group will use these items in these ways,” but said the city was concerned that others might misuse the facilities “to harm members of the public or law enforcement officers.”

The left-wing protest groups are organizing under the umbrella of the Coalition to March on the DNC, which is primarily focused on opposing U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza.

Faayani Aboma Mijana, a spokesperson for the coalition, told Raw Story that the city's concerns were "bogus," while citing the protest group's due diligence in securing permits, and training parade marshals to guide the marchers and deescalate conflict with counter-protesters.

"We went to great lengths to show that we can have a safe, family-friendly protest," they said.

But in a statement hailing the decision, the coalition described the fight for portable toilets as evolving into “an almost absurd dispute.”

The protest group had filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court to challenge the restrictions, and lawyers for the two sides had been expected to appear before Judge Andrea R. Wood for a hearing this afternoon.

But before that happened, the city agreed to meet the protesters demands, and Wood canceled the hearing.

The city confirmed the agreement on Friday.

“In preparing to host the Democratic National Convention as mayor of the city of Chicago, I have remained committed to upholding the diverse, multi-generational movements that brought me by exercising the right to protest and First Amendment rights,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a prepared statement. “We are focused on collaborative solutions and have extended this approach to our convention preparation to balance the need for security with our commitment to free expression.”

The city’s statement also included march routes for a handful of allied left-wing protest groups staging from Union Park on the first and last days of the convention, but Mijana said the city-approved routes do not meet the needs of the 30,000 to 40,000 people expected to show up for the protests.

The protest groups vowed “to keep fighting through other avenues to extend the length of the protest march route, to allow for more portable toilets, and to allow for tents in Union Park to house medics and media.”

Relatedly, the City of Chicago agreed to allow the protesters to use a stage and amplification system at the park where marches will begin on the first and last days of the Democratic National Convention.