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Chicago riots: Videos show violent clashes, Trump effigy set ablaze | 10 points
Thousands protested in Chicago's Loop against immigration raids and the Trump agenda, leading to chaos with clashes and a car driving through the crowd.
Thousands of demonstrators flooded Chicago’s downtown Loop on Tuesday to protest rapid ICE raids across the country and the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns.
What began as a large, vocal march quickly turned chaotic, with videos showing a Trump effigy raised in Daley Plaza, clashes with police, and a car speeding through a crowd.
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Here are 10 key takeaways from a tense and turbulent day in the Chicago:
1. The protest kicked off at Federal Plaza around 5 PM, with drums pounding and chants of “Revolution!” echoing through the crowd. Protesters waved Mexican and Palestinian flags, held signs reading “ICE Out of Chicago” and “One mustache away from fascism.”
2. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators joined the protest, chanting “From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go.”
3. Around 6:19 p.m., chaos broke out when a maroon sedan sped through the crowd near Monroe Street and Wabash Avenue.
A Chicago officer tried to strike the vehicle with a baton.
Witness Dr. Howard Ehrman told CBS News, “It was a miracle that nobody got hit… Instead of trying to block the car, [police] were trying to block the demonstrators.”
4. A woman in a yellow tank top, seen earlier spray-painting during the protest, was later spotted behind the wheel of the car, which only stopped after breaking down on State Street.
5. Tensions escalated at State and Monroe as protesters clashed with officers. Videos captured officers making arrests and protesters resisting. One demonstrator was seen being taken away wrapped in a flag.
6. At Daley Plaza around 7:45 p.m., demonstrators raised an effigy of Donald Trump and stood atop the iconic Picasso sculpture in symbolic defiance.
7. The crowd zigzagged across downtown, crossing bridges into River North and gathering again near Maggie Daley Park. By 10:45 p.m., some protesters were still active in the Loop.
8. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) suspended bus service across much of downtown, halting routes between North Avenue and Roosevelt Road due to the unrest. ‘L’ trains continued operating.
9. While several people were arrested, police said there were no major injuries. Some squad cars were tagged with anti-police graffiti.
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10. “That’s not my country, and I’m here to fight for my country,” said one woman from the podium, per CBS News.
“The injustice that's being done and being upheld by the White House is unfair, and we're here to practice our right to protest,” another added.
