PHILADELPHIA _ A mixture of disappointment and fatigue seemed to mute some Bernie Sanders supporters on the third day of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday while others returned for protests with renewed resolve.
"We have created a movement to that will transcend this presidency," Ali Kurnaz, 25-year-old Florida delegate who walked out of the convention Tuesday night shouted to more than 200 rowdy Sanders supporters gathered near City Hall. " ... And that is how we move forward."
On the other side of the city in FDR Park, supporters socialized quietly near their tents. They were unsure whether they would rally at the park Wednesday.
"I think everybody's a little low today," said Andrew English, 29, of Charlotte, N.C., as he sat with a friend on a bench, a guitar resting on his leg.
"We all knew ... Hillary Clinton was going to get the nomination, but we still had our hopes and dreams," English said. "But they were crushed yesterday."
Four people arrested by the Secret Service on Tuesday night appeared in federal court Wednesday and were released on their own recognizance. The four _ the first to be taken into custody since the convention opened _ were arrested after they scaled a barrier at the Wells Fargo Center. Shortly before, about 100 disgruntled Sanders' supporters staged an unexpected sit-in in the convention's media tents after Hillary Clinton won the nomination late Tuesday.
Lawyers representing those arrested questioned why protesters were relegated to FDR Park. "What good are First Amendment rights if you're in the middle of a forest protesting?" one asked.
For more than two hours Wednesday at a rally outside the Municipal Services Building in Center City, voter after voter and Sanders delegate after Sanders delegate climbed the stage, shouting into a microphone as members of the crowd clapped and cheered, thrusting signs into air. "Bernie got screwed!" read one. "Keep the Movement Moving!" read another.
The crowd swelled to about 400 by 3 p.m. As music blared during intermittent water breaks _ including songs "Power to the People" by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band and "Revolution" by the Beatles _ the energy was decidedly resolute. Supporters who attended were not ready to support the status quo or the establishment, they said. Not ready to fall in line.
"The lesser evil is not lesser enough to not make our voices heard," said Ivan DelSol, of Clinton. Wearing a giant poster of Bernie's head attached to his backpack _ DelSol said he was voting for Jill Stein.
"I think the Democratic Party will be facing third-party challenges for years to come," DelSol said. "We need a stronger left candidate."
A group from Westboro Baptist Church arrived at the rally at about 2 p.m., prompting police to form a line separating the two groups.
The mood was more mellow in FDR Park near the DNC venue.
Zach Stevens, who traveled from Texas, said Tuesday's events had been exciting, as Sanders' supporters marched through the city and protested at the park. But after a sleepless night, he and others were mellow.
"We're all pretty tired. We've been here for days," he said.
Michelle Lamere, a Nebraska delegate who arrived at the park around noon, said she hoped the group would continue its protests because she could partake more now that she had done her duty of voting for Sanders.
"Before it was just protesters," she said. "Now it's protesters and delegates."
