‘March on the RNC’ says agreement with MPD allows protest route within one block of RNC

By A.J. Bayatpour

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    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — Organizers of a protest group that long vowed to march in close proximity to next week’s Republican National Convention announced Friday they reached a deal with the city allowing them to demonstrate one block away from Fiserv Forum.

Leaders of the ‘Coalition to March on the RNC’ held a press conference Friday afternoon. Omar Flores, the group’s spokesperson, said hours earlier, the coalition had reached a “handshake agreement” with Milwaukee police, allowing the group to proceed with a planned march Monday morning that will stop at the intersection of W. Highland Ave. and N. Martin Luther King Dr., which is one block east of the Deer District and immediately outside one of the screening areas convention goers will pass through on their way into the RNC.

“For once, we’re not here today to condemn a decision made by the city,” Flores said. “We are proud that, today, the city is working with us, and we were able to run our march the way that we want to.”

A spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) said in a statement Friday police would not provide details about its meeting with the coalition before sharing boilerplate language it has shared for several months in response to questions about how the department will handle protests.

“The Milwaukee Police Department continues to work with the coalition to ensure they have the opportunity to safely express their First Amendment rights,” the statement read.

A spokesperson for Mayor Cavalier Johnson declined to comment on the meeting, saying only that he’d been briefed about it by MPD.

The coalition had been frustrated in recent weeks as the city and U.S. Secret Service placed the designated protest zones at Zeidler Union Square and Haymarket Square Park, which are further from Fiserv Forum than Pere Marquette Park, where the protest zone was originally slated to be.

Republicans then reserved the nearby Milwaukee County Historical Society, placing the museum and adjacent park in the hard security perimeter where only credentialed people will be allowed.

The coalition unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit over the decision, and Flores said organizers were taken by surprise when Milwaukee police called Thursday and set up a conversation for Friday, which led to the agreement.

Flores said the deal calls for a representative from the city attorney’s office to be present at the front of the march in case any law enforcement hassles the protesters. Police from dozens of departments across Wisconsin and as far away as California and Florida will be patrolling Milwaukee during the RNC.

“Although we always felt it was gonna be a family-friendly march, people were justifiably nervous,” Flores said. “We can’t account for what the police might do, and having a little certainty like this is really good for us, right? Honestly, our biggest concern at this point is that this park is even gonna accomodate for all the people that are gonna be here.”

Flores said the coalition expects a large contingent to come from Chicago, and he estimated between 5,000 and 10,000 people will participate in the march, which will start and end at Red Arrow Park beginning at 10 a.m.

Flores added Milwaukee protesters plan on returning the favor and marching at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month, where the protest zone is considerably further away than Milwaukee’s. He said he hoped this agreement will lead to a similar change in Chicago.

“I think if this sets precedence for anything, it’s gonna be for the March on the DNC,” Flores said. “That Milwaukee decided not to impede protesters, and things turned out well because of it.”

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