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CHICAGO -- Activists who staged a massive protest march at the NATO summit here Sunday vowed to bring thousands of demonstrators to Charlotte during the Democratic National Convention.
The events are significant to Charlotte because protest groups are planning to converge on the city en masse hoping to cast media attention on issues ranging from economic inequality and war to the environment. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers helping provide security for the NATO summit, including Chief Rodney Monroe, got a lesson Sunday on what might happen at the DNC.
They gathered in a downtown park with gas masks but did not appear to be directly involved in the late afternoon standoff. Charlotte Deputy Chief Harold Medlock also attended and said Sunday that the protest groups present in Chicago are “a pretty good representation” of who will demonstrate here.
Medlock also said Charlotte officials expect about as many protesters as appeared in the Chicago rally Sunday, though organizers hope to attract as many as 10,000.
erry Goldberg, a Detroit attorney who works with a coalition to stop foreclosures, said he attended a meeting two weeks ago in Charlotte to prepare to demonstrate at the DNC.
“Take a look at Detroit and you’ll see what Bank of America has done to us,” Goldberg said.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson attended the rally and said his Rainbow Coalition is planning to attend the DNC. “Charlotte is the gateway to the New South,” he said. “The New South has such a great opportunity to lead the country.”