Coalition to March on RNC, City Reach Last Minute Deal

Coalition to March on the RNC announces last minute deal with City of Milwaukee. Photo take July 12, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

The Coalition to March on the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the City of Milwaukee have reached a near last-minute deal on the coalition’s plan to march inside the soft security perimeter and within view of the convention being held at Fiserv Forum.

“We’re very proud to announce that as of 11 a.m. today, we have reached a handshake agreement with the city of Milwaukee that will allow us to march within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum,”  Omar Flores, co-chair of the coalition, said at a press conference Friday afternoon. “A member of the City Attorney’s office will be observing the march at the very front to make sure that things go without a hitch.”

It is the second time this week the coalition has had to change the protest route. After losing a lawsuit over the city’s permitting for public demonstrations earlier this week,  coalition leaders said the march would still go forward and announced a new route running through the “soft zone” of the RNC security perimeter. Pedestrians and cyclists are able to pass freely through the “soft zone” but vehicles must go through a security checkpoint.

Following the deal with the city, the new route will still run through the security perimeter and through the “soft zone”, going past the intersection of W. Highland Avenue and N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, where it will be roughly within a block of  Fiserv Forum. The march is scheduled to take off Monday morning from Red Arrow Park.

The coalition sued the city after the city refused to permit a march inside the security zone of the Republican National Convention. With legal representation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin (ACLU), the group sued the city in federal court seeking an injunction against the permitting restrictions, arguing they violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Court Judge Brett Ludwig did not grant the injunction and said the city’s restrictions meet the standard for “time, place and manner” limitations accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision released late Monday.

The coalition has been planning a demonstration against the RNC and the Republican Party since it was first rumored Milwaukee could become the host city, Flores said. It has been endorsed by more than 100 activist groups and organizations around the country, and organizers expect as many as 5,000 or more to join the march Monday.

“We are encouraging all with conscience to march on the RNC with our 125 endorsing organizations,” Flores said. “Join us to fight against the Republicans’ racist and reactionary agenda, to stand with Palestine; to defend women’s, LGBTQ and reproductive rights; to defend and expand immigrant rights and to advocate for peace, justice and equity.”

The city has designated two zones for protests and demonstrations: Zeidler Union Square, 301 W. Michigan St., and Haymarket plaza at the intersection of N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and W. McKinley Avenue. Groups and individuals can sign up to use amplified platforms at the two zones between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. throughout the convention. The designated parade route loops around the southern edge of Westown, near Zeidler Union Square. The coalition has criticized these “protest zones” for creating areas where different groups may come into conflict.

“What we’re all trying to do here really is to try and avoid conflict between different groups that might be showing up,” Flores said.

The deal between protestors and the city should serve as a precedent for the City of Chicago‘s approach to the March on the DNC. The 2024 Democratic National Convention is scheduled for August.

Based on conversations with the city attorney’s office Friday, Flores said it did not seem like the Milwaukee Police Department would intervene in the march. Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman previously said police should only be used as a “last resort” for intervening in protests, but the department did develop a “mass arrest” plan. The coalition planned for this just in case, Flores previously said, collecting money for a bail fund and lining up attorneys.

“We plan on running a family-friendly march and we greatly encourage everyone to come out.” Flores said. “The risk of running this march was already low, but now it’s even lower.”

New Map for March