Bernie Sanders Loyalists Bash Hillary Clinton Nomination, Clash With Police
By Geoff Mulvihill and Megan Trimble ••
Supporters of Bernie Sanders continued to protest outside the Democratic National Convention and expressed anger against Hillary Clinton gaining the Democratic presidential candidate nomination. The protests come days after emails leaked suggesting the Democratic Party was biased against Sanders. NBC10’s George Spencer was there for the protests and spoke to those who were involved.
Bernie Sanders loyalists protested inside and outside the Democratic National Convention site and clashed with police on Tuesday after Hillary Clinton won the party's presidential nomination.
Despite Sanders' calls for them to support Clinton, thousands of activists have taken to the streets during the convention this week to voice support for the liberal Vermont U.S. senator and his progressive agenda.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 28: Demonstrators gather near to the Wells Fargo Centre on day four of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on July 28, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention officially began on Monday and has attracted thousands of protesters, members of the media and Democratic delegates to the City of Brotherly Love. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Demonstrators gather at Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall on day four of the DNC on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia,.
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Demonstrators gather at Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall on day four of the Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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A man tries to pull an American Flag away from a revolutionary group trying to burn it outside of the convention center hosting the DNC on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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Demonstrators gather at Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall on day four of the Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Demonstrators gather at Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall on day four of the Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Demonstrators gather at Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall on day four of the DNC on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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Bernie Sanders supporters gather near City Hall on day three of the DNC on July 27, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A poster placed by supporters of Bernie Sanders compare Hillary Clinton to former US president Richard Nixon in protest against the DNC and Hillary Clinton's nomination during the 2016 Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Bernie Sanders supporters gather near City Hall on day three of the Democratic National Convention.
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Bernie Sanders supporters gather near City Hall on day three of the DNC on July 27, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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Two supporters of Bernie Sanders cool off in a fountain at City Hall during a rally in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 26, 2016, during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.
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Protesters climb a fence near Wells Fargo Center on the second day of the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Black Lives Matter protesters march through downtown Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Police watch protesters near the Wells Fargo Center on the second day of the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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Protesters climb a fence near Wells Fargo Center on the second day of the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Delegates walk out of the convention as they protest during the second day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 26, 2016.
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Delegates protest in the media filing center as they walk out of the convention floor during the second day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 26, 2016.
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Delegates protest in the media filing center as they walk out of the convention floor during the second day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 26, 2016.
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Bernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall in preparation to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Ethan the Farmer and Shay the Alpaca cross JFK Blvd. near City Hall Monday July 25, 2016 as the Democratic National Convention began in Philadelphia. Ethan said he uses the alpaca to raise awareness in support of small farms.
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Black Lives Matter protesters march through downtown Philadelphia, July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Black Lives Matter protesters hold a wooden coffin with an upside down donkey representing the Democratic party in downtown Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016.
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Black Lives Matter protesters march through downtown Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016.
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Elizabeth Martin sits along Broad St. before a march by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016.
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Dr. Jill Stein, presumptive Green Party presidential nominee hugs Cornel West at a Power to the People Rally in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, during the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
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Bernie Sanders supporters are joined by other groups as they march towards FDR Park on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A demonstrator is taken into custody by police after climbing over a fence near the AT&T Station, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, during the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
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Members of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret cross Broad St. before a march by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders in Philadelphia, on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016.
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Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog was spotted during a Feel the Bern protest march on South Broad Street as the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25, 2016.
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Bernie Sanders supporters are joined by other groups as they march towards FDR Park on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Bernie Sanders supporters are joined by other groups as they march towards FDR Park on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 25: Bernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall in preparation to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention is expected to attract thousands of protesters, members of the media and Democratic delegates to the City of Brotherly Love. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Bernie Sanders supporters are joined by other groups as they march towards FDR Park on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Police walk through an entrance to City Hall as Bernie Sanders supporters prepare to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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An elderly woman watches from her front stoop as Bernie Sanders supporters are joined by other groups as they march towards FDR Park on the first day of the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
NBC10/Joseph Kaczmarek
Demonstrators carry a giant marijuana joint down South Broad street from City Hall, Monday July 25, 2016, during a Feel the Bern protest march.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 25: Bernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall in preparation to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention is expected to attract thousands of protesters, members of the media and Democratic delegates to the City of Brotherly Love. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
NBC10/Joseph Kaczmarek
Demonstrators march down South Broad Street from City Hall, Monday July 25, 2016, during a Feel the Bern protest march.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Bernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall in preparation to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
NBC10/Joseph Kaczmarek
Demonstrators from Texas hold a sign during a protest at City Hall.
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A Bernie Sanders supporter prepares to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
NBC10/Joseph Kaczmarek
Demonstrators march down South Broad Street from City Hall Monday July 25, 2016.
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ernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall in preparation to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
NBC10/Joseph Kaczmarek
Demonstrators protest outside City Hall on Monday July 25, 2016.
NBC10/Joseph Kaczmarek
Demonstrators protest outside City Hall.
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Bernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall in preparation to march through downtown on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
Moments after Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party, a large group of Sanders delegates and supporters exited the Philadelphia convention site to hold a sit-in inside a media tent. Some had their mouths taped shut. A few spontaneously sang the chorus of the folk song "This Land is Your Land," and a banner read "we the people." They said they were holding a peaceful protest to complain about being shut out by the Democratic Party.
"This was not a convention. This was a four-day Hillary party. And we weren't welcome," said Liz Maratea, a New Jersey delegate at the media tent protest. "We were treated like lepers."
In the streets outside, Sanders supporters who had spent the day protesting began facing off with police. Protesters began scaling 8-foot walls blocking off the secure zone around the arena parking lot, and several were detained. An officer sprayed one of the protesters.
The protests continued into the night with Sanders supporters and anti-police brutality protesters joining together. They marched in the street outside of the Wells Fargo Center. Later, someone set an Israeli flag on fire while people chanted "long live the intifada."
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Others then came together for a candlelight vigil.
Unmoved by Sanders' plea for party unity, the Bernie or Bust protesters walked miles in the stifling heat again Tuesday to make their case for him. They held a midday rally at City Hall, then made their way down Broad Street to the convention site. By early evening, a large crowd had formed outside the subway station closest to the arena.
"We all have this unrealistic dream that democracy is alive in America," said Debra Dilks, of Boonville, Missouri, who said she wasn't sure she'll vote in November. "Hillary didn't get the nomination. The nomination was stolen."
The crowd consisted of an assortment of protesters espousing a variety of causes, but mostly Sanders supporters and other Clinton foes on the left. College student Cory James said he expects the Democratic Party to split over the nomination.
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"I suspect we are witnessing an event that will fundamentally change American politics," said James, of Flint, Michigan.
Earlier in the day, participants at the rally charged that Sanders was cheated out of the nomination, and they said they weren't swayed by his Monday plea to his supporters to fall in line behind Clinton for the good of the country.
"He persuaded no one to vote for Hillary," said Greg Gregg, a retired nurse from Salem, Oregon, who intends to cast his ballot in November for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
The longstanding bitterness between Sanders' supporters and Clinton's seemed to grow worse over the past few days after a trove of hacked emails showed that officials at the Democratic National Committee played favorites during the primaries and worked to undermine Sanders' campaign.
Black Men for Bernie founder Bruce Carter said Monday's speeches from Sanders and Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren didn't persuade him to support Clinton.
"They really agitate people more every time they stand up and do the Hillary Clinton hoo-rah hoo-rah," he said.
Carter, a Dallas resident, said he doesn't fear a Republican Donald Trump presidency.
With temperatures climbing again toward the mid-90s, Chris Scully, an engineer from Troy, New York, held a "Jill Before Hill" sign outside City Hall and said he opposes Clinton because of her war record as U.S. secretary of state.
As Scully spoke, a passer-by called out: "That's a vote for Trump!"
In a separate protest, against police brutality and racial injustice, about 500 people marched down Broad Street to City Hall. Protest leader Erica Mines told the crowd it was an "anti-police rally" and a "black and brown resistance march" and instructed all white people to move to the back.
March participant Tiara Willis, of Philadelphia, said she subscribes to the slogan "I'm with her ... I guess." She said she won't back Trump and called Clinton "the lesser of two evils."
