The insects were found at a hotel housing delegates on the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Picture: Getty Images)
Maggots discovered in a breakfast buffet for Democratic National Convention delegates sickened at least one and have prompted an FBI probe.
Authorities are investigating whether the insects were intentionally slipped into food at the Fairmont Chicago hotel, where delegates are staying from Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota.
‘Multiple unknown female offenders are alleged to have entered a building… and began placing unknown objects onto tables containing food,’ stated the convention’s information center.
‘The offenders are believed to have then left the area. One victim was treated and released on-scene.’
The maggots were discovered at the Fairmont Chicago hotel, where delegates from Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota are staying (Picture: chrismetcalfTV/Flickr)
Bugs were found in the food around 6.45am on Wednesday, the third day of the convention that will culminate with the Democratic Party formally nominating Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday.
Indiana delegate Karen Tallian said her friends who arrived at the dining room before her saw the bugs.
‘We were all coming down to breakfast, and there were these two women who had hidden themselves in the bathroom, and they ran out and threw maggots into the breakfast buffet,’ Tallian told USA Today.
Fairmont Chicago hotel spokesperson Haley Robles confirmed to WGN Investigates that ‘a group of individuals caused a disruption’ and that the staff ‘acted immediately to clean and sanitize the area, ensuring that the event could continue without further incident’.
The Democratic National Convention is taking place in Chicago from Monday to Thursday (Picture: Getty Images)
Indiana delegate Tracy Boyd said that police and state troopers ‘protected us, of course, and turned it around in minutes’.
The food was replaced within an hour, according to witnesses.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling provided few details on Thursday morning.
Pro-Palestinian protesters stage a protest on Thursday outside the venue of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois (Picture: Reuters)
‘There’s just a little information about the possibly of someone walking in and placing things,’ he said.
‘I’m not sure those were maggots, there was sawdust, (possibly) mealworms. They look the same.’
As of Thursday afternoon, no one had claimed responsibility for the incident.
Demonstrators carry flags and placards during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, near the United Center, on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (Picture: Reuters)
‘All Americans have the right to peaceful protest, but ugly attacks like this have no place in our democracy,’ Indiana Democratic Party spokesperson Sam Barloga told The Hill.
It happened less than a month after the Palestinian Youth Movement’s DMV chapter claimed responsibility for maggots, mealworms and crickets placed on a table at the Watergate Hotel, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was staying.
Other disturbing incidents have befallen the convention this week, including alleged bomb threats and anti-Semitic notes sent on Tuesday to several hotels being used for the gathering including Nobu Hotel, Hotel Chicago West Loop and Hyatt House Chicago.
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