Protesters Are Expected to March in Milwaukee as R.N.C. Opens
The New York Times
After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, protest organizers said their rally would proceed as expected. Law enforcement authorities said they were prepared.
Left-leaning demonstrators had been preparing for months to march through downtown Milwaukee at the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday. The attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday, protest organizers said, would not change those plans.
Even as the attack, which happened during Mr. Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, left the country in a state of shock and worry, it seemed that the Republicans’ convention would go forward largely as planned. Secret Service officials said they weren’t expecting any changes to their security measures, which have been in the works for more than a year. Republican Party leaders said that Mr. Trump would still accept the nomination in person on Thursday. And protesters, a consistent presence at national political conventions, said they would be there, too.
“We have not had safety issues at any of our several marches or events, and we look forward to our family-friendly march,” Omar Flores, a co-chair of the Coalition to March on the R.N.C., said on Sunday in Milwaukee.
Organizers said they planned to hold a rally and march downtown on Monday around the time delegates would be arriving for some of the first meetings of the convention. There was still some uncertainty about how close to the event protesters would be allowed to march, a dispute that has simmered between organizers and city leaders for weeks. Mr. Flores said that his group intended to come “within sight and sound” of Fiserv Forum, the main convention hall.
Activists involved in the planned march were united in opposition to Mr. Trump and the Republican platform but also motivated by a range of issues. Some said they objected to the United States’ support of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Others focused on abortion restrictions or immigration policy. Many said they were seeking more accountability for police officers and more protections for L.G.B.T.Q. people. Some of the same activists have also said that they were planning to protest next month outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, part of the coalition planning to protest in Milwaukee, said on Sunday that “we’re going full steam ahead.”
