For months, memes have appeared to show Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot watching for crowds and threatening to close parts of the city if residents don't abide orders and closures during the coronavirus pandemic.

But on Saturday, Lightfoot herself - not just a Photoshopped picture of her, like those used in such memes - apparently had a hand in breaking up a large gathering at Montrose Harbor, according to social media posts by the mayor and crime blog CWB Chicago.

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Lightfoot on Saturday posted to Twitter an image of dozens of people engaging in what she called, "reckless behavior on Montrose Beach."

"It's called a pandemic, people," said the mayor's post, which included a picture of partygoers. "This reckless behavior on Montrose Beach is what will cause us to shut down the parks and lakefront. Don't make us take steps backwards."

In a follow-up tweet she confirmed she was there and seemed to suggest she had already ordered new fencing seen Sunday morning: "In case you were wondering, I stopped by to see for myself. It's being addressed," she wrote at 7:30 p.m., about 90 minutes after she posted a picture of the party.

Stoking concerns that the mayor had followed through on threats to close the "parks and lakefront," were additional images circulating on social media of police cars blocking a Montrose Harbor entrance. The Lakefront Trail also was blocked by police officers at Montrose Avenue and Lake Shore Drive Sunday morning.

Authorities confirmed that as of Sunday morning police officers were detailed to entrances for Montrose Harbor, according to Anthony Spicuzza, a Chicago police spokesman. However, Spicuzza said officers frequently have been detailed to lakefront access points throughout the pandemic, so the presence of officers Sunday did not necessarily indicate any changes had been made.

"Foot access is available but you're not supposed to park there," Spicuzza said. "The 19th District has bike teams available to patrol that area as well but they aren't specifically detailed there like the squad cars are."

On CWBs Twitter post, an individual responded with a poorly lit video that purported to show a fence being erected in the same area, allegedly in response to the party held there. Spicuzza said police couldn't comment on the fence referred questions about it to the city's Streets and Sanitation division. Representatives of that department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The Tribune verified about 50 yards of fencing along the edge of the lakefront Sunday morning. The rest of the beach remained open, however. It was not known how long the fence had been there or for what reason it was erected.

Check back for updates.

The Tribune's Jessica Villagomez and Brian Cassella contributed.

kdouglas@chicagotribune.com

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