Protesters demonstrate at GOP convention for abortion, immigrant rights and an end to the Gaza war

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Milwaukee on Monday to protest against the Republican National Conventionand said, attack to former President Donald Trump will not affect their long-standing plans to hold a rally outside the site.

A variety of organizations and activists gathered in a downtown park outside the security perimeter of the Fiserv Forum to listen to speakers before 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 to end War in the Gaza Strip.

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’t afford the rich anymore,” 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 noon, in temperatures approaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit, protesters marched around the arena’s security perimeter, 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.”

A shooter identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a shot that grazed Trump’s ear during a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. One rally attendee was killed and two others were seriously injured during the attack, sparking widespread calls for increased security and raising questions about Trump’s safety in Milwaukee – he arrived in the city on Sunday – as well as that of other congress participants.

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

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, Wisconsin’s largest immigrant rights group, condemned the political violence but accused Trump of stoking anger.

“There is no denying that Trump’s rhetoric, policies and actions have contributed to a climate of increasing violence and the legitimization of hate crimes,” she said.

Peter Wilt, 64, of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, was in the crowd Monday morning holding a sign that read, “Now we ban automatic weapons.” Wilt said the sign was in reference to the attempted murder.

“Common sense gun control is just that. Common sense,” he said. “Republicans have refused to pass common sense gun control, in part because they can’t handle it.”

A heavy police presence was ensured 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 convention. Milwaukee and federal officials have repeatedly said their priority is Security and insist that they have made concessions regarding freedom of speech.

Many activists are using the experience in Milwaukee to prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. This event is expected to attract even more people, and the Chicago Police have Training about constitutional policing and preparation for possible mass arrests.

Milwaukee police have carried out some exercises related to the Convention, but no comprehensive training.

“At any very large gathering, people always have to be on guard,” said Hilario Deleon, chairman of the Milwaukee County Republican Party. “If the gathering is successful, the city is successful.”

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