FBI investigating maggot incident at Democratic convention

Authorities say several women scattered insects on a breakfast table at the gathering in Chicago.

Chicago police and the FBI are investigating a stunt in which several women scattered maggots on a breakfast table at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago earlier this week. The authorities say they believe the individuals were trying to make a political point with the help of the insects.

The four-day event concluded on Thursday night with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the party’s nomination to run for president in the November 5 election.

On Wednesday, several US media outlets reported that the maggot incident had taken place at the Fairmont Hotel, which was hosting Democratic delegates from Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, and South Dakota.

WGN-TV broadcaster quoted authorities as saying that “multiple unknown female offenders are alleged to have entered a building… and began placing unknown objects onto tables containing food. The offenders are believed to have then left the area.”

While it is not clear whether any of the delegates consumed food before the maggots were discovered, “one victim was treated and released on-scene,” according to the statement.

An FBI evidence response team van was spotted outside the venue on Wednesday morning. According to media reports, no arrests have been made so far in connection with the incident.

Indiana delegate Bryan Lilienkamp told reporters that he was “running a few minutes late, so I didn’t see what happened, but those who I spoke to said the hotel staff responded extremely quickly. They cleared everything out and brought out new food,” he said.

WGN-TV quoted Haley Robles, a spokeswoman for the Fairmont Hotel, as saying: “We can confirm that a group of individuals caused a disruption at a DNC-related breakfast event at our hotel this morning.”

She added that “our team acted immediately to clean and sanitize the area, ensuring that the event could continue without further incident.”

Commenting on the stunt, Indiana Democratic Party spokesperson Sam Barloga insisted that “all Americans have the right to peaceful protest, but ugly attacks like this have no place in our democracy.”

On Monday, a group of pro-Palestine protesters tore down a section of the metal security fence outside the DNC venue, engaging in altercations with police officers. The demonstrators demanded that President Joe Biden’s administration cut military aid to Israel and exert pressure on the country’s government to stop its military operation against Hamas in Gaza. Several people were detained during the incident.