Huge Protests and Heat Wave Kick Off the DNC in Philadelphia

There’s one thing that’s for sure: this year’s Democratic National Convention is going to be one for the history books. A stifling heat wave and tremendous crowds of protestors swept into town on the eve of the DNC, at which Hillary Clinton is to be officially named as the Democratic nominee for president. The convention has only been going on for a few hours (as of this writing), but the convention is already much more tumultuous than was the Republican National Convention last week in Cleveland.

Protesters march in anticipation of the start of the DNC.

The largest groups of protesters were pissed-off supporters of Clinton’s once-rival, Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton has had a hard time courting her competition’s fan base, which is large and impassioned. That became even harder over the weekend, when a server leak revealed thousands of e-mails from higher-ups in the Democratic Party actively colluding to discredit Sanders and promote Clinton’s campaign. Complaints of fraud, favoritism, and corruption have been slung left and right, and now the disenfranchised Sanders supporters have brought their ire to the convention.

They aren’t the only protesters there, however. There was also a march by Democrats desiring cleaner energy sources, opposing fracking and the construction of new oil pipelines. They marched from City Hall to Independence Hall.

According to Philadelphia police, the protesters have been peaceful, if impassioned.

And then there’s the heat wave. With “feels like” temperatures over 100 degrees, attendees and protesters alike have been warned about the dangers of staying out in the sun for too long. Volunteers are on hand to pass out bottles to water, but it’s expected to be a hot week.