(The Center Square) – While Milwaukee Republican National Convention planners continue to push to move the city’s planned protest zone, protesters are angrily pushing back.
The Coalition to March on the RNC recently demanded the Secret Service leave the convention protest zone in Pere Marquette Park.
“The Republicans explicitly named the Coalition to March on the RNC, and extensively quoted the Coalition, as a significant security risk. The Coalition is called ‘disturbing,’ and the RNC obliquely claims it is inciting violence,” Coalition leaders said in a statement. “This is a disingenuous, cowardly position to take, and the Coalition condemns any and all attempts to paint us as violent or to infringe on our right to take the streets.”
RNC planners have written at least two letters and have had in-person meetings with the Secret Service about the protest zone and its proximity to the convention in July.
RNC planners worry the protest zone, a quarter mile from the convention, is too close to the convention. They also worry RNC delegates and visitors will have to walk past the protest zone to get into and out of the convention.
The Coalition angrily demanded the protest zone be left alone and blamed Republican leaders for any fear or potential violence.
“The Coalition has stated from the beginning that we intend to run a family friendly march in July, and our points of unity include ‘peace, justice, and equity for all,’” Coalition organizers said. “Meanwhile, the Republicans are cheerleaders for murderers like Kyle Rittenhouse and regularly make cartoonishly racist and reactionary statements. ‘Hypocritical’ and ‘disingenuous’ are not sufficient to describe what is happening here. The RNC wants to support violent, anti-democratic events like the January 6th insurrection, but trembles at the thought of thousands of people and families marching for peace, justice, and equity. This is cowardly.”
The Secret Service has continued to say it doesn’t believe there needs to be a change in the security protocol.
Milwaukee will welcome the RNC on July 15-18.
