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The morning of July 3, 1917, the First Machine Gun Regiment planned out demonstrations that were to be carried out later that day. With the help of Bolshevik activists, they elected a committee to help delegate resources and to gather support. On the evening of July 3 demonstrations broke out in Petrograd. Led by the First Machine Gun Regiment, soldiers marched through the streets, with workers and other divisions of soldiers quickly joining as they marched to the Tauride Palace. These demonstrators marched under the slogan "All Power to the Soviets", wanting the group to not only seize but use their power.

The following day, July 4, the protests continued, with more soldiers and workers joining in. The crowds outside of the Tauride Palace demanded to see a government official, and the Soviet Leaders sent out Viktor Chernov. When he tried to calm the crowd, they instead seized him, with one protestor famously shouting, "Take power, you son of a bitch, when it is handed to you!" (CITE STEINBERG). The crowd continued to hold Chernov hostage until Trotsky made his way through the crowd, urging the crowd to release the man, which they did.

The protesters, most them Bolshevik supporters, attempted to gain support from the Bolshevik party. But when they gathered near the Bolshevik headquarters, Lenin initially refused to see them. In the end, he simply gave them a brief speech, yet refused to give them his support. Within the Bolshevik party itself, there was turmoil on whether they should support these demonstrations or not. Eventually, they did not give the protestors their support. Lacking leadership, the protestors soon dispersed.

The military authorities sent troops against the demonstration, leaving more than 700 people killed and wounded and arresting more than a thousand. The Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks supported punitive measures against the insurgents. They began to disarm workers, disband revolutionary military units, and carry out arrests. On 5–6 July the offices and printing plant of Pravda and the headquarters of the Bolshevik Central Committee were destroyed. On 7 July the Provisional Government issued an order for the arrest of Lenin, who was forced to go underground. On 8 July troops loyal to the regime arrived in Petrograd from the front.