Activists representing a variety of left-of-center causes marched through Milwaukee today to protest the Republican National Convention after what organizers called a “handshake agreement” with the city to take a route officials previously denied.
Milwaukee police estimated 700 to 800 people participated in the march.
Among signs protesters carried were ones that read: “Stand with Palestine, Stop the Genocide”; “Stop Trump & Racist Republicans”; “Lock Him Up”; and “We Can No Longer Afford the Rich.”
During the march, protesters rotated between a variety of chants, One said: “No fascist Trump. No genocide Joe. The whole damn system’s got to go.’’
Said another: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’’
And these: “Black Lives Matter” and “Shut it Down.”
The officially approved march route announced last month is south of the Baird Center, about five blocks south of Fiserv Forum, the main convention venue.
But organizers wanted to protest and march east of the convention closer to Fiserv, a plan Republicans objected to and security officials denied. A court case upheld that decision.
Despite that, The Coalition to March on the RNC announced plans to hold a rally in Red Arrow Park and march along the eastern side of the perimeter. Organizers yesterday said they reached an agreement with city officials, and that a representative of the city attorney’s office would march along to observe.
Ahead of the march, a variety of speakers demanded an end to the war in Gaza, called for changes to policing and immigration policy, railed against large corporations, and pressed for indigenous rights, LGBTQ rights, an end to racism and for social and economic justice.
Meanwhile, a small group of counterprotesters held anti-abortion signs and shouted anti-gay rhetoric over a megaphone, while another protester shouted insults at them over a megaphone in an attempt to drown them out.
Several speakers knocked former President Donald Trump over immigration, policing and other issues, while accusing him of being a racist and fascist.
Speaking on the podium, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Milwaukee immigration rights group Voces de La Frontera Action, condemned political violence while referring to the assassination attempt against Trump. But she said he’s responsible for the charged political atmosphere in America today.
“We grieve for the families of those who died and were injured on Saturday,” she said. “At the same time, it’s undeniable that Trump’s rhetoric, policies and actions have contributed to a climate of increased violence and legitimize hate crimes by white nationalists.”
Hatem Abudayyeh, U.S. Palestinian Community Network national chair, knocked both Trump and President Joe Biden for their positions on the Israel-Hamas war.
“In the debate, we heard Trump say that Israel must be allowed ‘to finish the job.’ We know what that means: that Trump not only supports the genocide, he wants to intensify it, kill more and more Palestinians,” he said. “But Trump in Milwaukee this week and Genocide Joe Biden in Chicago next month shouldn’t forget that the vast majority of the world stands with Palestine and its right to self-defense and resistance in Gaza.”
Rally attendee Nadine Seiler, of Maryland, held up a sign calling Trump a “racist,” “rapist,” “seditionist” and “fraudster,” among other things. She said he is a threat to democracy.
“Trump is an existential threat to America, and I don’t understand why the majority of people in this country would be willing to allow somebody like that back into the White House, where his ego and his hubris and his negligence could possibly cause another million people to die,” she said.
Milwaukee resident Tony Srok, who held a sign at the protest labeled “lock him up,” said he showed up to the protest because he wants Trump “held accountable to his crimes.”
“I think trying to usurp democracy is my most important concern with Donald Trump, and I want him locked up for that,” Srok said.
Source link
