Hillary Clinton smiles and nods amid chants echoing Trump supporters

The crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago broke into loud chants of “lock him up” after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assailed former President Donald Trump for his legal woes.

The three-beat chant was a new spin on “lock her up,” one of the constant refrains of Trump’s presidential campaign against Clinton in 2016. Trump frequently whipped up his supporters with attacks on Clinton’s record as secretary of state, including her use of a private email server, and he vowed to put her in prison.

Clinton, 76, did not respond to the chants. She tried to talk over the crowd when the chanting began. But as the commotion gathered strength, she stood at the podium silently, smiling and nodding until the audience quieted down.

The chants came after Clinton aimed at Trump’s legal troubles, mocking him for appearing to fall asleep inside a Manhattan courtroom this summer during his hush-money trial.

“When he woke up,” she said, “he made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.”

That’s when the crowd went wild.

A Manhattan jury convicted Trump in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges brought in connection to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election made to a porn star who said she had an affair with him.

Trump is scheduled to be sentenced for the conviction next month. While a prison term is possible, legal analysts have said it is unlikely Trump would receive such a punishment for a non-violent, first-time offense.

Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to tamp down chants of “lock him up” at Harris-Walz campaign rallies in what may be an effort to avoid the fiery rhetoric that flared up at Trump events eight years ago.

NBC News has reported that any signs of approval Harris makes could further delay or complicate the pending federal criminal charges Trump is facing, including the Jan. 6 and 2020 election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, fired up the Democratic delegates in the audience with remarks that nodded to Harris’ historic candidacy. “The future is here,” Clinton said to cheers.

“I wish my mother and Kamala’s mother could see us,” Clinton said in remarks that drew sustained applause and standing ovations. “This is our time, America. This is when we stand up. This is when we break through!”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, mouthed “wow” as Clinton took the stage. Walz’s wife, Gwen, cried during the former first lady’s remarks.