'Traumatizing' Pro-Palestinian Protesters Target Brad Schneider's Highland Park House

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Dozens of anti-Israel protesters targeted the Highland Park home of Congressman Brad Schneider early Saturday morning, awakening neighbors and triggering a police response.

Demonstrators showed up to Woodland Road after 2:30 a.m. with a loudspeaker, drums, cowbells and other noisemaking devices, according to video from the event.

They held banners reading, "Israel bombs / Illinois pays" and "Schneider defunded UNRWA / We charge genocide" and chanted, "Free Palestine," "Schneider, Schneider, you can't hide," and "Resistance is justified."

Police showed up to the scene around 2:45 a.m., where they found about 40 people in the street and "immediately began de-escalation and dispersal," city staff said.

In a statement, staff said officers were able to end the protest within about a half hour of the first noise complaint without arresting or ticketing anyone.

"In the interest of on-scene security, de-escalation is a priority and always the first step in safely resolving these types of situations without escalating the situation or increasing the probability of protesters’ return to Highland Park in greater numbers," they said.

Officers called for backup, surrounded the protesters, informed them they were violating a local noise ordinance and asked them to leave voluntarily, according to staff, who pointed out such disturbances are regulated by the city's nuisance ordinance and handled administratively.

"As the protestors dispersed voluntarily, no citations were issued," staff explained. "Individuals who violate local ordinances after being warned by law enforcement may receive a citation for the specific violations, ultimately leading to a possible custodial arrest if they do not comply."

Highland Park residents expressed concerns over the city's handling of the situation, with some criticizing the lack of arrests.

A spokesperson for Schneider, the co-chair of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus, issued a statement expressing disappointment over the timing and location of the demonstration.

“It’s unfortunate that, instead of seeking a constructive dialogue with Congressman Schneider, a group of people hiding their faces chose to taunt and intimidate a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on the Jewish Sabbath in the middle of the night," the spokesperson said.

The congressman's office also noted that the protest came just days before the second anniversary of the mass shooting at the Highland Park 4th of July parade, describing it as a "shared tragedy that was spurred by hate."

Though prosecutors have not ascribed a motive to the man awaiting trial over the shooting nor charged him with a hate crime, a lawsuit filed on behalf of victims and survivors of the shooting documents how the alleged gunman created posted antisemitic messages and calls for genocide against Black and Asian people on an online forum using an account he created shortly before he legally acquired his first rifle.

"The Congressman is always happy to meet and sit down with anyone," Schneider's spokesperson said. "I encourage those who disagree with his views to seek a conversation in the daylight rather than disturbing and traumatizing families in the darkness of night.”

City staff said that reports "indicate that protestors chanted antisemitic comments," describing them as antithetical to community values. No further details were immediately available from city representatives regarding those comments.

City officials said they have discussed the protest with Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart and Highland Park Corporation Counsel Steve Elrod and that they have an "an active plan in place to address another incident to the fullest extent of the law."

In a social media post, organizers of the early morning protest in a suburban residential neighborhood demanded that funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, be reinstated, that Illinois divest from Israel and "an end to the US backed genocide on Gaza."

A day after the protest at Schneider's home, the protesters showed up at the Chicago home of Gov. J.B. Pritzker for another early morning protest.

Demonstrators outside the private family homes of public figures have become increasingly common in recent years. Protesters showed up at the homes of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh and, earlier this year, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.