Some Democrats wonder if the hostility their party experienced at a state Democratic convention in Las Vegas this past weekend could possibly spill over to their National Convention this summer in Philadelphia.
With Hillary Clinton’s narrow Tuesday night win in Kentucky and loss in Oregon to Bernie Sanders, the tension between both camps’ supporters is only growing.
“I am worried that it’s going to be a repeat of 1968 at the Democratic Convention,” Carol Cizauskas, a newly-elected Bernie Sanders delegate, told ABC’s local Philadelphia TV news affiliate.
The city of Philadelphia is already preparing for DNC protests. According to CBS Philly, the city has received nine requests for demonstration permits during the convention period. Presently, only one permit has been issued and seven are still waiting for approval. One permit was rejected.
“There was a point where I thought there was going to be a riot,” Cizauskas said of the environment at the Las Vegas political event, who claimed that the tension between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters did not escalate to the point of violence, but that she “saw a lot of anger, and I saw a lot of people stand up for their democratic right to be heard and the votes to be counted.”
Additionally, according to reports from Las Vegas-based reporter Jon Ralston, death threats through voicemail and e-mail were sent to Nevada Democratic State Chairwoman Roberta Lange.
“I hope Senator Sanders will find the strength to step up to the plate and turn this behavior around,” said state vice chairman Chris Wicker.
The Sanders campaign released a statement Tuesday and condemned the violence in Las Vegas.
Sanders supporters became angry with Lange, according to Dan Rolle, a Democratic candidate for Congress, when the Nevada Democratic Party “enacted some rules that were designed to give convention authority to the state chair.”
This action set off a series of events that led to the Sanders camp and their supporters fruitlessly fighting motions against the chair until their microphone was cut.
Clinton ultimately walked away with a few more delegates than Sanders, but Sanders supporters say that over 64 delegates were unfairly denied.