Demonstrators gather in Chicago after getting permit to march during DNC: 'It shouldn't have come to this'

CHICAGO - Protesters hit the streets of downtown Friday, targeting the Democratic National Convention. 

City officials recently granted permits for groups to march during the DNC, including the organization 'Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws,' which advocates for reproductive rights. 

The group has been locked in a legal battle with the city for the past eight months and saw this as a pivotal moment to bring their message to lawmakers.

"It shouldn't have come to this. It shouldn't have taken an eight-month legal battle, with the kind assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, National Lawyers Guild attorneys, a suit in federal court, an appeal to an administrative law judge, it should have not come to that," said activist Andrew Thayer. "I do not think the framers had any idea that the First Amendment right to freely assemble and express your views should've taken that kind of nonsense."

So far, at least six protests have been publicly announced for the DNC, and the city is working to accommodate each group’s application.