Four arrested after fence breach at DNC, Chicago police says
Chicago police secure fencing after a breach in the security barrier ahead of the Democratic National Convention on August 19
By Michael Williams, Jamiel Lynch and Joe Sutton, CNN
(CNN) — Four people were arrested after breaching a security fence near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention is being held, Chicago police said.
Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, speaking to reporters at the fenced perimeter, said police were assessing whether the current fencing was sufficient.
“Our job here is to make sure that we keep the DNC safe, keep our city safe and keep our city safe,” Snelling said. “We have no idea what they would have done had that gotten onto the other side. But as I’ve said before, we’re not going to tolerate anyone that is going to vandalize things in our city. We are not going to tolerate anyone who are going to commit acts of violence.”
The DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center said in a statement: “At no point was the inner perimeter breached, and there was no threat to any protectees.”
“The National Special Security Event plan employs a multi-layered approach. Each NSSE plan is unique and includes multiple layers. One of these redundancies include the outer perimeter fence, which was erected to prevent entry into the inner perimeter,” the center said.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, speaking with CNN from the convention floor, said the authorities have “a good plan in place” and described the fence breaching as brief.
Pritzker said authorities will respect peoples’ right to protest but will not “stand for any mayhem.”
“Frankly, that’s the way it’s going to be,” Pritzker said.
CNN’s Jason Morris and Ryan Young contributed to this report.
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