Protesters gather outside the Republican National Convention for abortion, immigrant rights and an end to the Gaza war

July 16, 2024

A variety of organizations and activists gathered in a downtown park outside the security perimeter of the Fiserv Forum to listen to speakers ahead of a street march coordinated by the Coalition to March on the RNC. The coalition, made up largely of local groups, supports abortion and immigrant rights and pushes for an end to the war in Gaza.

The atmosphere was festive, with music blaring from speakers, a man playing a guitar and vendors selling T-shirts and buttons supporting Republicans and Democrats. One protester wore an orange prison jumpsuit with a giant Trump cutout for a face. Activists carried signs reading “Stand with Palestine,” “We can no longer afford the rich,” and “Defend and expand immigrant rights.”

At one point, a group of protesters got into an argument with counter-protesters who condemned LGBTQ+, Muslim, Black Lives Matter and women’s rights.

Counterprotester Rich Penkoski of Stillwater, Oklahoma, yelled through a bullhorn that women should go home and make sandwiches for their husbands. Protesters eventually walked away from the counterprotesters as police watched.

At 12 noon, protesters marched around the arena’s security perimeter in temperatures approaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit, chanting “Hey-hey, ho-ho, the Republicans must go” and “This is what democracy looks like.” Many carried Palestinian flags.

The protesters marched a block from Fiserv Forum, past the edge of the arena’s security zone, before returning to the downtown park where they had started. Milwaukee police estimated the crowd at 700 to 800 people and said no one was arrested. However, an Associated Press reporter saw a man in handcuffs being held by police outside the park after the march ended. An officer told him he was arrested for disturbing the peace, though it was not immediately clear what led to the arrest or whether the man was part of the protest.

The Philadelphia-based economic justice group Poor People’s Army marched later Monday afternoon. Two dozen protesters gathered in a park about a mile from the Fiserv Forum to prepare for the march. They wrote slogans on signs denouncing corporate greed, mass incarceration, the war in Gaza and other issues as a loudspeaker blared Pete Seeger’s “Which Side Are You On?”

Jill Stein, a longtime Green Party presidential candidate, addressed the group, calling for reduced military spending and greater investment in public education, public housing and health care. She did not mention the assassination attempt.

Cheri Honkala, 60, said she traveled to Milwaukee from one of Pennsylvania’s poorest counties to “send a clear message to all politicians” that people living below the poverty line “don’t survive.”

Honkala said she was nervous after the Trump assassination attempt because she might clash with police officers and counter-protesters during her march with the Poor People’s Army. But she was not deterred, she said.

“The climate is definitely scary,” she said, “but you know what’s scarier? Nothing to say.”

Honkala was at the front of the protest near the arena when police ordered her to move to the sidewalk. She refused and remained on the street when more police arrived and again ordered her to move.

At one point, she turned to the group and said, “I’m just a little woman. I’m just a little woman. I’m not going to hurt anyone.” The officers handcuffed her and led her away.

A gunman identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a shot that grazed Trump’s ear during a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. The attack killed one rally attendee and seriously wounded two others, prompting widespread calls for improved security measures and raising questions about Trump’s safety in Milwaukee – he arrived in the city on Sunday – as well as that of other convention attendees.

Kimberly Cheatle, director of the US Secret Service, said on Monday that the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies had “reviewed and strengthened” the security plan for the convention and would continually adjust their measures as needed. She added that the Secret Service had also made changes to Trump’s security personnel. She did not provide further details.

What you should know about the attack on Trump and its consequences

A heavy police presence was maintained in the city, with officers from several jurisdictions providing security. Pentagon officials said 1,700 National Guard troops, mostly from Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, were also on active duty at the gathering. Milwaukee and federal officials have repeatedly said their priority is security, and they insist they have made concessions on free speech.

Many activists are using the experience from Milwaukee to prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. That event is expected to draw even larger crowds, and Chicago police are currently completing training on constitutional policing and preparing for possible mass arrests.

Associated Press writers Kathleen Foody in Chicago and Lolita Baldor in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.