Protests break out in Philadelphia on eve of the Democratic National Convention
Final preparations are underway for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Organizers spent Sunday checking audio for speakers and performers, as well as testing different lightning.
The eve of the DNC already saw the first protests of the event. Philadelphia Police tweeted about demonstrations in the downtown area, nearly 4 miles north of Wells Fargo Center.
Police say the protests remained peaceful Sunday. Pictures of the event showed a massive law enforcement presence. They also showed demonstrators holding signs mentioning climate justice and Senator Bernie Sanders.
The protests come amidthe release of leaked emails showing DNC staffers favoring Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the party’s 2016 primary contest.
GOP Nominee Donald Trump tweeted about the controversy Sunday saying “The Wikileaks e-mail release today was so bad to Sanders that it will make it impossible for him to support her, unless he is a fraud!”
Trump also appeared to call on Bernie supporters to protest the news tweeting “Looks like the Bernie people will fight. If not, their BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS was a total waste of time. Kaine stands for opposite!”
At least one protestor our ABC 17 News crew talked to says the group he’s affiliated with plans to hold demonstrations every day of the DNC.
Monday marks day one of the DNC and some big name speakers are scheduled to take the stage.
Among the speakers scheduled to take the stage on Monday is Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders has been Hillary Clinton’s closest rival throughout the primary season.
First Lady Michelle Obama is also slated to speak Monday.
A woman named Pam Livengood will also speak Monday about her personal experience with thegrowing substance abuse epidemic and how it impacted her family.
You can read the full list of speakers scheduled for Monday on the DNC’s website here.
Tomorrow’s event gets underway at 3:30 local time. Our ABC 17 News crew is monitoring all the action and will have live updates from Cleveland on ABC 17 News at 10:00 and on ABC 17 News This Morning.
