CHICAGO (AP) — At least one person may have become ill from mealworms at an event at a Chicago hotel during the Democratic National Convention earlier this week, the city’s police chief said Thursday.
While the investigation is ongoing, Chicago Police Chief Larry Snelling said evidence suggests people have been placing mealworms on tables.
“I’m not sure if those were maggots,” Snelling said Thursday when asked about the possibility that insects had fallen on various tables. “There was sawdust, so they were probably mealworms. They look the same. But that’s still under investigation.”
Mealworms are widespread insects with worm-like, yellow to brown colored bodies. They are the larval form of the mealworm beetle. Maggots look similar but have a soft body and a white to transparent color. They are the larval stage of flies.
Several suspects, all women, entered the Fairmont Chicago, where a breakfast for DNC delegates was being held, and began placing “unknown items” on tables filled with food before leaving the area around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
According to Chicago police, a person who consumed the food was treated by medical personnel and released at the scene.
The Fairmont Hotel confirmed the “disruption” and added in a statement that staff “immediately took action to clean and disinfect the area so the event could continue without further incident.”
Earlier this year, activists released hundreds of mealworms, maggots and crickets at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hotel in Washington DC to protest the war in Gaza.
The Associated Press
