Tipsheet

There Was an Insect Attack at the DNC

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  August 23, 2024 9:30 AM

The FBI and Chicago police are investigating whether activists intentionally placed insects into a breakfast for delegates at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. 

Some witnesses claimed the bugs were maggots while others said they were crickets. 

"Multiple unknown female offenders are alleged to have entered a building...and began placing unknown objects onto tables containing food," the DNC 2024 Joint Information Center said in a statement. "The offenders are believed to have then left the area. One victim was treated and released on-scene. Along with CPD, FBI-Chicago is assisting in the investigation."

"We were all coming down to breakfast, and there were these two women who had hidden themselves in the bathroom," Indiana delegate Karen Tallian told USA TODAY. "And they ran out and threw maggots into the breakfast buffet." Tallian, a retired state senator, said friends who reached the dining room ahead of her had witnessed the contamination.

The incident was the most recent example of ongoing efforts to disrupt the convention, including multiple bomb threats at hotels where delegates and other attendees are staying. Fox32-TV reported that the threats were made against at least three hotels.

"We ran out every single threat yesterday and they are continuing to come in today," Derek Mayer, the deputy Secret Service special agent in charge, said at a Wednesday morning briefing.

No one claimed responsibility for the breakfast buffet outrage. (USA Today)

The incident comes a month after a similar episode took place at The Watergate Hotel when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to D.C. for an address to a joint session of Congress.

The Palestinian Youth Movement released scores of maggots, crickets, and mealworms inside the hotel and pulled its fire alarm “to ensure that there will be no rest before Netanyahu and Congress disgraces themselves in front of the world.”

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