MILWAUKEE — Police presence and security have been stepped up for this week’s Republican National Convention, following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday. But thousands of protesters still plan to march in downtown Milwaukee for Trump’s expected presidential nomination, despite several legal hurdles and concerns about police accountability if events get out of control.
The marches are expected amid a federal judge’s ruling last week that one of the largest protest groups could not gather Monday in the heightened security zone around Fiserv Forum, where the convention’s main activities will take place. In addition, the Milwaukee Police Department continues to insist it can suspend a city rule that requires the release of body camera footage within 15 days of police shootings or in-custody deaths.
The Madison federal judge’s ruling comes as similar arguments have been made in Chicago by a group planning to protest at next month’s Democratic National Convention. The ongoing Chicago case, which appears close to being settled, also seeks to allow protesters easier access to the United Center and McCormick Place during the Democratic National Convention.
While Chicago is not suspending its body camera policy, which requires the release of videos of police shootings within 60 days instead of 15 days, DNC protesters have raised other concerns about the CPD’s plans, including the potential for mass arrests and violations of their First Amendment right to free speech.
Additionally, the DNC could see a larger number of protesters than the RNC, with many activists saying they oppose President Joe Biden’s tougher pro-Israel stance on the Gaza war.
“Normally the RNC tends to draw more people, but this year, with everything going on in Palestine, people are more angry at Biden,” said Alan Chavoya, one of the leaders of Milwaukee’s largest protest group.
Despite the obstacles in Milwaukee and the shooting in Pennsylvania at Trump’s rally, leaders of one of the largest groups protesting the RNC said their plans for Monday’s march would not be deterred and that they were trained for many different outcomes, including how to de-escalate conflicts if they erupted with police.
At a news conference Sunday, Flores said the coalition reconfirmed with the city Saturday night the 2-mile march route it had redrawn following the judge’s decision to respect security perimeters. Flores said the coalition was prepared for any last-minute security changes and expected the city to stick to its agreement.
After two years of planning, the Coalition to March Against the RNC expects 5,000 protesters to march at Monday’s rally, the group’s leaders said.
The coalition is running on five “points of unity”: opposing a “racist and reactionary” Republican agenda; defending women’s, LGBTQ and reproductive rights; defending immigrant rights; calling for peace, justice and equity for all; and supporting Palestine.
“I knew we had to organize so that when they (Republicans) are here, Milwaukee sends a strong message that we oppose their values,” said Chavoya, who is also the coalition’s financial co-chair.
To make their voices heard, the coalition filed a lawsuit in early June against the city of Milwaukee for not approving a permit for a march that would have taken them to the Forum. The group filed for the permit two years ago, shortly after the Republican Party announced it would hold its convention in Milwaukee, said the group’s spokesman and co-chair, Omar Flores.
Although the coalition was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the restrictions violated the protesters’ free speech rights, the federal judge in Madison said that “the First Amendment does not permit them to protest or march as they wish” and sided with a plan that set a parade route about five blocks from the arena.
“We want our message to be heard by Republicans, so I’m disappointed,” Flores said.
As protesters are unhappy with the new march route, the suspension of the policy regarding body camera footage is a concern.
The suspension of that policy is significant given the large number of law enforcement officers from across the country who will be in downtown Milwaukee during the RNC, a development that was underscored by the assassination attempt. Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said officers from the Chicago Police Department would be assisting.
The Milwaukee Police Department has defended suspending the body camera policy, in part because it would be too difficult to coordinate the city’s policy with federal and multistate agencies that are assisting the RNC. Norman added that even if the policy is suspended, he is confident that key scenes will be filmed.
“If you can find a place where there’s not going to be any cameras, any cell phones, any surveillance cameras, any multimedia cameras, I really want to know that place because it’s going to be well monitored and recorded,” Norman said in an interview.
While protesters expressed anger at the suspension of the policy, calling it “undemocratic,” coalition leaders said they had also trained protesters in conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques.
“If there are counter-protesters, we are not going to react but redirect people. We are not here to dialogue with others, we are here to defend our community,” said Diego Flores, who leads the coalition’s security team.
The team was divided into three groups with colored vests for identification. The yellow vests designate the marshals who will form a perimeter for the march, the orange vests for those who will interact with law enforcement and the red vests for medics.
Diego Flores said his goal is for the security team to behave like “a well-oiled machine.”
“Obviously the total size of the march is larger than the number of marshals, so the role they will play in coordinating and directing the crowd is critical,” Diego Flores said.
The police, Norman said, aim to be “invisible” because the focus of the week should be on the convention and not on any clashes that might break out between law enforcement and protesters.
Jeff Fleming, director of communications for the city of Milwaukee, said groups and individuals have the opportunity to sign up for one of two demonstration areas and the parade route. The city of Milwaukee has received more than 100 applications in recent months for slots in the two demonstration areas at Haymarket Square and Zeidler Union Square, which are north and south of the forum, respectively.
Haymarket Square protesters will be visible from Fiserv Forum, but the square itself may not be large enough to accommodate hundreds of protesters, forcing some to disperse to surrounding streets. Zeidler Union Square is larger but not visible from the convention.
Each slot is 20 minutes long, with half-hour intervals, giving protesters a 10-minute buffer. City-authorized civilians trained in conflict de-escalation will be on hand to manage the protesters.
“These individuals voluntarily signed up for slots and have so far followed our rules, so we expect the same behavior to continue (during the RNC),” Fleming said.
Malavika Ramakrishnan is a freelance writer.
