How Will Milwaukee Handle Protests At The RNC?

As the July Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee creeps closer with each passing week, frustration is mounting among local activists. More than 60 organizations, collectively known as the Coalition to March on the RNC, are asking why the city of Milwaukee has yet to approve a permit allowing the coalition to hold a family-friendly march within sight and sound of the convention. Members of the coalition say they fear that the public’s ability to be heard during the convention will be stifled by a series of opaque guidelines developed in secret by convention organizers.

Omar Flores, a spokesman for the coalition and finance chair of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said that the city has made the coalition jump over multiple hurdles to try to get its permit approved. Negotiations with the city continuing just a couple months from the convention. “Our demands from the beginning have been we want to be within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum,” Flores told Wisconsin Examiner. “And now we’re having to form even more demands just because of all the obstacles that they’re trying to put forth.”

Among other requirements, coalition organizers object to questions put to them by the city. “They’re telling us that we need to sign a checkbox that says … nobody at the protest or involved in this process, have ever been involved in any kind of violence, vandalism, or disruption, and this and that,” said Flores. “Obviously there’s going to be thousands coming to the city, I mean even hundreds organizing this. I mean, obviously nobody can make a statement like that. And also, I mean the way the wording is is also extremely vague.”

During a March 18 meeting with the city’s Public Works Committee, Nicholas DeSiato explained that this particular determination would be made by the police chief. City officials may deny or revoke a permit if the application contains inaccurate or incomplete information, or if the police chief determines that a person or persons involved in the registration had participated in violent or disruptive behavior during any parade or public demonstration in the past.

Flores and other organizers fear that this could be used by the city at the last minute to deny the coalition’s request to march. There are also questions about the parade route and the creation of a speaking platform. Flores told Wisconsin Examiner that the coalition was promised “first-dibs” on the speaking platform, but only for a single 15-minute slot.

A city website for the RNC details various rules for the speaking platform. Individual people or organizations will only be allowed to reserve a single time slot. Additionally, if someone signs up for a group or organization, they will essentially speak for the entire group rather than having different people from that organization reserve slots. Time slots are “non-transferrable,” and speakers must check in no later than 30 minutes before their assigned time. “Failure to appear timely may result in losing your spot,” the website states. Motorized vehicles, bicycles and personal sound equipment including microphones and bull horns will not be allowed. All of these regulations, the city website notes, are also subject to change.

A separate application will be required for the speaker’s platform, says Flores. “Mind you it’s a first-come-first-serve basis,” said Flores, “so we could be sharing the stage with a bunch of right-wingers, extremists, basically creating a huge conflict zone if you want to use that [terminology].” Flores said that coalition members have repeatedly voiced their concerns with city officials close to the RNC process. Meanwhile, the activists fear that even members of the city’s common council are being left out of the loop. “They’re not communicating with anyone, they’re just leaving our comments to die,” said Flores.

During the March 18 Public Works Committee meeting, Ald. Robert Bauman – who chairs the committee – pointed out that registration could be terminated due to bad weather, or “a large-scale civil disturbance involving violence or danger to persons, or extensive property damage, and at the request of the appropriate city officials.” Those officials would be the commissioner of public works, director of administration, the police or fire chiefs, and their designees. Ald. Lamont Westmoreland wondered why the city is opting for a registration process, rather than a more traditional permitting process. Westmoreland questioned what steps can be taken to verify the identities and backgrounds of people registering for the RNC and protest events.

Bauman noted that the location of the speaker’s platform has yet to be determined. DeSiato said that the location of the speakers platform is being worked out with the county, while the parade route is being handled by the city and Secret Service. “We’ve taken a rather lax approach sometimes,” said Bauman. “I mean we’ve had popup marches, parades without permits and we’ve just generally let them go as a practical matter. I mean, four years ago they were painting the street out here, and they had no permit to paint the street.” The alderman wonders whether law enforcement will respond to the city’s traditional popup protests. DeSiato brushed off the questions, deferring to law enforcement.

With the city still deciding how to structure an ordinance related to events around the RNC, things are up in the air. DeSiato said that once an ordinance passes the council, he hopes to get a registration process up within a week. During that same meeting, Flores said, “We don’t feel that the police department should be in control of who gets to speak, and how these routes are going.”

“Honestly I trust community members more to decide who is considered to be a hateful speaker,” Flores added “I don’t really trust [law enforcement’s] designation as to what they would consider a hate group, or people who would be inciting violence.” 

In November, Urban Milwaukee published stories showing that three Milwaukee police officers, and two from Bayside PD, were active members of the anti-government, right-wing Oath Keepers militia group. One of the Bayside officers resigned after reports of his membership in the Oath Keepers surfaced.

Among the coalition members, Flores told Wisconsin Examiner, are experienced activists who’ve been involved in past political conventions. They have seen how leading up to conventions, local activists often become targeted by police using armed raids, informants, and other tactics to chill activist groups. Currently, the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) is seeking out an “open source intelligence tool” which it will use to automate the collection of information about people to map out social connections, and proactively respond to what law enforcement deems as threats to the RNC.

Flores told committee members that if a permit isn’t approved for the coalition, then the group plans to march anyway. The long-time activist added that in his own experience, aggressive police responses to otherwise peaceful, family-friendly protests are what create the danger and unease the city is trying to avoid at the upcoming RNC.

Tim Muth, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin, expressed his own concerns about the city’s preparations for the RNC. “The ACLU of Wisconsin remains very concerned about everything the City of Milwaukee and Secret Service have not told the public,” Muth told Wisconsin Examiner in a statement. “We do not know the official parade route. We do not know the location of an official’ speaker’s platform. We are still determining how the police will limit other expressive activity outside of parades and speakers with permits. The City is taking great care to protect those speaking inside the convention venues. Equal care must be taken to protect the rights of those who may take to the streets that week to express differing views.”

In a statement to Wisconsin Examiner, an MPD spokesperson said public safety is at the forefront of preparations for the RNC. “Public safety is the Milwaukee Police Department’s number one priority,” said an MPD spokesperson. “We continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to ensure a safe RNC. MPD respects the rights of all individuals who wish to peacefully express their First Amendment rights.”

How will Milwaukee handle protests at the RNC? was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.