Pro-Sanders Demonstrators March Outside Democratic Convention
GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press
MEGAN TRIMBLE, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hundreds of Bernie Sanders supporters marched down Philadelphia's Broad Street in the sweltering heat Monday afternoon just ahead of the opening of the Democratic convention, chanting "Nominate Sanders or lose in November!" and "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the DNC has got to go!"
The growing crowd of about 600 made its way from City Hall toward the convention site, 4 miles away in south Philadelphia.
The protests took shape amid a punishing heat wave, with forecasters saying the temperature could hit 97 degrees and feel like 105. Organizers lined up hundreds of spray bottles to keep marchers cool and planned to make tubs of ice and towels available. At least one woman in the crowd was put in an ambulance by stretcher.
Severe thunderstorms were in the forecast for late afternoon and early evening.
Although planned for months, the marches came as fissures widened in the party. Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned Sunday as Democratic Party chairwoman over leaked emails suggesting the supposedly neutral Democratic National Committee had played favorites for Hillary Clinton during the primaries. The emails angered many Sanders supporters.
About 100 Sanders supporters made their way into Philadelphia by marching across the Ben Franklin Bridge from Camden, New Jersey, chanting, "We are the 99 percent."
Gary Frazier, a Camden resident and organizer with Black Men for Bernie, said the goal is to get the convention to nominate Sanders for president. If that doesn't happen, he said, there will be a push to withdraw Sanders supporters from the Democratic Party. He said a Donald Trump presidency wouldn't be any worse than what's happening now.
"We want Bernie Sanders, Frazier said. "That's the people's choice. He was robbed of the nomination."
Among the protesters who started in Camden was Randall David Miller, an autoworker from Detroit who said he has seen many co-workers laid off and his own pay slashed in half over the past decade. He blamed NAFTA and said it is essential to rework all U.S. trade deals.
"I've suffered so much in Detroit," he said.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross was again on scene of the protests Monday, watching as he did on Sunday as officers directed traffic and kept protesters confined to the sidewalks.
Ross said that Sunday's marches were "like a scrimmage game" and that while the protests will only get bigger, he was pleased with how respectful the demonstrators have been.
The four-day convention is being held at the Wells Fargo Center in south Philadelphia, well removed from City Hall and the skyscrapers of Center City.
By contrast, the Republican convention last week in Cleveland was held in a bustling part of the city. A heavy police presence and fewer than expected protesters helped authorities maintain order. Only about two dozen arrests were made.
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