Protesters turn up heat on DNC Day 1
PHILADELPHIA — Police briefly detained more than 50 people after they tried to storm the barricades outside the Democratic National Convention yesterday evening in a show of anger over Bernie Sanders’ treatment by party leaders, even as he urged his supporters to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton.
Several hundred Sanders supporters and other demonstrators converged on Broad Street and made their way four miles to the convention site as the gathering was being gaveled to order, chanting “Nominate Sanders or lose in November!” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the DNC has got to go!”
As tensions mounted outside the Wells Fargo Center, police moved metal fences into place and closed the nearest subway station to arriving trains. Fiftyfive people were issued citations for disorderly conduct when protesters tried to climb over police barricades at the edge of the security zone surrounding the convention, police said.
••• Mayor Martin J. Walsh admitted that Democratic delegates might require an interpreter to understand his thick Boston accent — but stressed they’ll have no problem spotting his Patriots pride.
“I have my Patriots hat and I am looking forward to walking around Philly,” the Dorchester Democrat said, adding he isn’t afraid to catch heat in the City of Brotherly Love for backing Boston sports teams in the heart of Eagles territory.
“I have my Boston garb on and I am going to be walking around with it all, trust me, in the next couple of days,” Walsh said with a laugh.
••• Bernie Sanders may not be leaving Philadelphia with more delegates than Hillary Clinton, but if a survey of Philly’s downtown area, Center City, is any indication, he has the presumptive Democratic nominee beat when it comes to apparel.
Hundreds of Bernie-clad supporters walked through the sweltering summer heat as if a rock concert starring the progressive darling had just let out nearby. Among the most popular buttons were # Feel - theBern, # Ber- nieorBust, #StillSanders, and the letters TPP — for Trans Pacific Partnership — in a circle with a line through it.
“He’s still the voice of our movement,” one supporter said while sporting a #FeeltheBern T-shirt and a Sanders button. “Even if he is not the nominee, we still believe in his message.”