Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched to the National Constitution Center on Wednesday night, demonstrating near the building for around two hours while the presidential debate took place inside.
The protest was organized by the Philly Palestine Coalition, a group involved with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Penn’s campus last spring. Numerous Penn students and faculty, as well as participants from the encampment, were present at the demonstration around the NCC.
At its peak, Philadelphia Police Department officers estimated the rally to have about 700 participants.
Police presence was heavy throughout the demonstration, with officers lining the streets in anticipation of potential vandalism or violence. Multiple people reported minor injuries from clashes with police that occurred later in the night.
The protest reached the NCC around 8 p.m. following an hour-long march from Philadelphia City Hall. Several organizers spoke to the crowd gathered outside the NCC, including one student from Swarthmore Students for Justice in Palestine and another from Temple who had participated in Penn's Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
One speaker criticized both Vice President Kamala Harris and 1968 Wharton graduate and former President Donald Trump for their positions on the Israel-Hamas war, prompting chants of “come November, we’ll remember” from the crowd. The speaker also condemned Harris, former Penn professor and President Joe Biden, and Trump for their treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters, specifically mentioning students who had been arrested and suspended for their protest participation.
Chants and drumming took place during this time, including calls for “student intifada” and chants of “the people, united, will never be defeated.” Numerous call and repeat chants listed locations in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as the names of Palestinians killed during the Israel-Hamas War. One chant praising Hamas and Al Qassam — the military wing of Hamas — occurred during a student’s speech, in which the crowd chanted “say it clear, say it loud, Hamas you make us proud.”
Around 9:30 p.m., approximately 300 protesters flipped plastic traffic barricades that had been blocking the street leading to the debate venue. The crowd gathered a block away from the NCC, stopping at a barricaded area secured with metal gates. Police scanners indicated that anyone crossing the barriers would be arrested.
Police vehicles with siren lights on and three rows of police on bicycles blocked Market Street at its intersection with 4th Street. Police scanners suggested the vehicles were intended as a warning for the crowd to “wrap things up.”
A protest organizer announced over a microphone that anyone not willing to be arrested should disperse. Following this announcement, around 100 people remained at the demonstration. Soon after, as the remaining protesters began a sit-in at 4th and Market streets, an individual lit an unknown object on fire and placed it in the center of the intersection.
PPD officers, including two rows of riot-gear-clad officers, rushed the area and moved the protesters away. Demonstrators clashed with police, who used bicycles and billy clubs to respond. Multiple people fell and cited minor injuries after the confrontations, including one Penn student who said they were “a little scratched up.”
After this period of tension, organizers called for everyone to disperse. A smaller group of protesters, including at least five Penn students, stayed for a short time afterwards.
Around 10 p.m., the protesters abruptly dispersed and ran one block away from the intersection of Arch and 4th streets without reconvening. According to organizers, a few individuals, including the one who lit the fire, were arrested.
Staff reporters Sameeksha Panda and Charlotte Bott contributed reporting to this article.
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