PHOTO: Activists protest at Chicago NATO summit

Chicago--­­ Sunday marked Chicago’s first ever NATO summit.

At 10 a.m., protestors and organizers from the Coalition against NATO-G8, who were largely responsible for the march, started arriving in the cities Grant Park, where a three-hour long rally took place with protestors from across the country.

Student from Minnesota University gathered in the park, making signs and banners on behalf of Students for a Democratic Society and would later join the march down Michigan Avenue.

There was strong anti-Obama sentiment throughout the rally, with much of it directed at the president’s economic policies. In the same vein, the protestors cried out against austerity measures taken through the European Union, claiming these to be the cause of the continent’s continuing economic instability.

The rally was a conglomeration of many organizations protesting NATO action and lack of action.

Veterans for Peace, an organization composed of American war veterans who oppose war and NATO’s use of military action were one of the many groups present.

“We oppose Proxy wars, the use of military drones and believe that NATO is a criminal organization and that America has committed acts of terrorism,” said group organizer Lenny Bianchy.

The rally ended at 2 p.m. and the protestors began marching toward Michigan Avenue, chanting slogans like “NATO, go home, worry about the Euro-zone!” and “Today is the day we destroy the system.”

After the two-hour long march, the protestors arrived near McCormick Place, where organizers of the protest began making speeches decrying NATO, its use of military force and free-market capitalism.

The protestors remained organized and relatively calm through the majority of the proceedings.