Demonstrators March on Lincoln Park, Lakeview

Several people detained after raid on Bridgeport apartment on Wednesday, National Lawyers Guild says

Throngs of protesters took to the streets in Chicago's Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods on Thursday evening, reportedly in response to the detention of several people from an apartment complex in Bridgeport a night earlier.

The demonstrators were peaceful as they walked through the streets on the city's north side, though at times they blocked traffic. They were accompanied by a small police presence.

At around 9:30 p.m., the demonstrators were seen at the intersection of Fullerton, Lincoln and Halsted. About a half an hour later, the group had made its way to an Occupy Chicago convergence center at the Wellington United Church of Christ, at 615 West Wellington Ave.

Independent journalist Tim Pool, who provided a livestream of portions of the march, said the demonstration was in response to arrests made Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

The National Lawyers Guild, which provides legal services to protesters, said two people were arrested in a raid on an apartment complex near West 32nd Place and South Morgan Avenue.

From an NLG statement:

"According to witnesses in Bridgeport, police broke down a door to access a 6-unit apartment building ... without a search warrant. Police entered an apartment with guns drawn and tackled one of the tenants to the floor in his kitchen. Two tenants were handcuffed for more than 2 hours in their living room while police searched their apartment and a neighboring unit. ...  A search warrant produced 4 hours after police broke into the apartment was missing a judge's signature, according to witnesses. Among items seized by police in the Bridgeport raid were beer-making supplies and at least one cell phone."

For a period of time, other residents were "unaccounted for," said NLG spokesman Kris Hermes.

"We've called police officials at every level trying to find out where they were being held. We were denied any information at all about any people being arrested, let alone a raid happening last night. So essentially these people were disappeared for more than 12 hours until we could finally locate them," he said earlier in the evening.

Asked about the arrests at an afternoon press conference, police Supt. Garry McCarthy said there was an "inquiry" into which the department was looking but declined to comment further.

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