Tony Kinnett Goes "Undercover" With Chicago DNC Protesters

Tony Katz:

The DNC is starting today, but it really started yesterday as the businesses of Chicago boarded up their storefronts and the people started their first day of protest by letting you know that reproductive justice is tied with a free Palestine. Don’t ask me how that works. I can’t begin to explain it to you. What was stunning is that they clearly don’t have their act together because there were these protests going on. Nobody was actually in charge. And it was a conversation of free Palestine. They can’t find Palestine on a map of reproductive justice and of trans rights, often in the same exact march. Tony Kinnett. Joins me right now investigative journalist with the Daily Signal, radio host at 93.1 FM WIBC in Indianapolis and places around the country. And there you were right, you’re covering the DNC from the outside and you’re like, “Hey, look, there’s a protest. Hey, look, nobody’s in charge. Hey, I’ll just go lead this thing.” And literally, like stork from Animal House, Tony Kinnett was leading their protest march just to prove they don’t know what they’re doing. How did that come about?

Tony Kinnett:

So, we went over to cover the protests right before it got started and we just made our way to the front of the circle where they had people screaming and yelling their chants. It was horribly run. Their equipment wasn’t working properly. The Chicago police, on the other hand, were very prepared. They were using a line of bicycles to form like a makeshift fence, which by the way. I’ve never seen that before. But as a as far as like a police analysis, that was rather brilliant because then you can move it, take it away immediately. And so, I get near the group, and we all start marching. And all of a sudden, I just realized no one shoved me off to the side and I just walked up near the front near the banner and before I knew it in my big bright peach Under Armour polo with my neatly combed hair and slacks looking very out of place and just walking alongside them. I honestly Tony came this close to grabbing the bullhorn and like chanting some lyrics from the Veggie Tales or from Animal House.

Source: Joey Foley / Getty

Tony Katz:

Honestly, Tony Kinnett, if you’ve never seen him, looks like he could pop out from the back part of a J Crew catalog. And it was, you mean it? It is outrageously out of place and it’s so glorious. But you like, you realize that the minute you do that, these people are watching. They’re watching every video that comes through. And so before even day one begins, you’ve outed yourself and already it’s been quite a morning of emails and posts, and not just from some of the pro-Palestinian individuals who, by the way, have said very angry threats.

Tony Kinnett:

Actually, in one of the group Telegram conversations they had, one of them was actually defending me. Saying, well, here’s a really nice guy, He wasn’t hurting anybody. He was just walking around smiling and talking about teaching and things. So, it must have been someone I actually talked to because that is true. I was giving them a short historical tour of Chicago. “We’re marching down Michigan Ave”. And just for kicks and giggles, I’ll tell you that the USA TODAY crew is very upset. Because they took a bunch of pictures to use for thumbnails, so they didn’t have to pay for them for their articles. And I’ve ruined every one of them because it’s all of these mean, angry socialists glaring at everyone. And then there’s old Midwestern buck tooth smile Hoosier Tony Kinnett with a big grin on his face, looking like a youth pastor after a Sunday school.

Tony Kinnett

Tony Katz:

Let’s talk about the people boarding up the businesses and these protesters now I did not get any reports last night of violence from the protests, but everything we’re hearing makes one believe that these people are very insistent on getting their message across to the Democratic Party and that getting rough and tumble is not off the table. What are you hearing?

Chicago Prepares For The Democratic National Convention

Source: John Moore / Getty

Tony Kinnett:

The vibe is not yet that’s it. And so, there’s supposed to be bigger protests later today and this week. There was one moment I did not catch it on actual footage, and I wasn’t fast enough where they a few of them after there was a small scuffle between police and the protesters. I was right next to it. A few of them did shout and I quote “death to the Democratic Party.” So, you can see why I’m kicking myself for not getting my phone out fast enough. But at least as far as the violence is concerned, there wasn’t enough leadership. The leaders that were present seemed more intent on getting everyone through the march because there are so many coming through today, they are threatening to “bring the war home” and what there will be and of course there’s a lot of who boarding up their windows, putting up that Georgia Pacific like storm proofing that they put up when hurricanes are about to come through. I’m just not sure, but the CPD is trying their hardest to be ready for anything.

Tony Katz:

You mentioned bringing the war home… You actually did catch some of that video. It was very, very strange stuff of this idea that when they say bring the war home. Which war are they referring to and how does the party not address this as a violent signal?

Tony Kinnett:

Well, I mean, given that war usually includes some form of starvation, I think given how scrawny they were, that might have been what they were talking about. But aside from the jesting, they were talking about the DNC and then Kamala. I guess the idea is it’s supporting Israel and Gaza. Makes the idea of this genocide they’re talking about, well, they’re going to bring that here. I don’t really know what it is that they’re saying. I guess that they might advocate or argue, well, we’re just talking about awareness of the war here, as though no one in the country is aware of the Israeli Gaza Hamas war. I don’t know, it just seems like something they shouted that’s kind of edgy. Like a teenager who just wants to be angsty. And that’s the real reason that I was grinning like a big goofball through the whole thing. It was silly, man. I was like, this is it. This is this is who they brought. I’ve seen more energy at like a like the opening of a McAllister’s. I mean, this is pathetic.

Tony Katz:

You mentioned that the vibe was not yet… but you hear these commentaries, and you hear what they’re saying and everything is a prescription for violence, a desire for violence, a veiled and unveiled conversation about violence. But I think for a lot of people it’s confusing, that you’ve got the pro Hamas crowd with the reproductive rights crowd, with this trans crowd. And everybody’s marching in in unison with different messages in the same march, and nobody says, hey, this is “weird”. The which message or which group? Is it expected that we will see more protesters for? Who’s going to win out here?

Protesters Demonstrate During The 2024 Democratic National Convention In Chicago

Source: Jim Vondruska / Getty

Tony Kinnett:

Ohh, the pro Hamas protesters, and actually this is this led me into probably the end of my protest antics last night because I got into a conversation with a woman who had shown up to expecting this to be like a pro-abortion rally. That’s why she had shown up. She was excited about abortion because you know, she’s sad and she shows up. And instead, it was all about Palestine. And so, what had been advertised is this unity event where, oh, we’re so excited to stand together for all of this, quickly just became only about here’s how much we hate the Jews, and we’re going to march, too. And she was disappointed. So, I think that what you’re going to see is the Hamas crowd take over everything and then ruin it, you know, like the Gaza Strip. So, I think that’s probably what’s on tap. I can’t see even, I mean, the socialist Marxist crowd, they bow down to that immediately because they approve of the methods. And the abortionist crowd has the spine of a chocolate eclair.