MILWAUKEE — Political protesters at the Republican National Convention of former President Donald Trump say his brush with death Saturday in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally will not slow down their determination to be heard during the gathering.
Omar Flores, co-chair of Coalition to March on the RNC, said it is important to march against Mr. Trump since President Biden’s chances of winning reelection are slim.
“Trump was already polling pretty well, and Trump seemed like a lot more imminent of a threat even before the shooting,” Mr. Flores said. “That alone was encouraging a lot more people to come out because it’s not looking like Biden is gonna win, and I think we’re anticipating that this is gonna be the first of many marches against Trump.”
The protesters first gathered at Red Arrow Park, where speakers from various organizations in the coalition made remarks and answered questions from reporters before marching along their route around downtown Milwaukee.
The Democratic National Committee initially planned robust counter-programming on the ground in Milwaukee, including a fleet of 57 buses wrapped with anti-Trump messages. But party officials paused that plan after the attack at the Trump rally.
According to Mr. Flores, the anti-Trump march was two years in the making and his organization was in court most of the time over marching route issues.
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“This convention, these two years that we spent struggling to be able to march within sight of the Fiserv forum,” he said. “It’s proof that Biden didn’t do that. The Democrats here didn’t do that. They actually gave the city on a silver platter to the Republicans.”
He estimates over 1,000 demonstrators came on Monday. His group has also endorsed the March on the Democratic National Committee’s convention in Chicago next month.
Kia Thomas, 27, a resident of New Orleans, said she was disappointed in the DNC’s leadership for not going forward with their counter-programming at the RNC convention.
“Obviously they’re not equally as bad, but I do think that they are also impeding justice. They’re impeding democracy by being so cavalier about what’s going on in this country,” she said adding she was concerned about “all the fascist and imperialist policy … they’re allowing to happen in the country.”
“We definitely are not going back, regardless of what has happened over the weekend or anytime in the recent past, politically, now, more than ever,” said Jay Gibbs, 33, a union organizer who lives north of Milwaukee. “It’s more important for the people to show up and make their voices heard.”
Demonstrators waved signs with messages such as “Stop Trump & Racist Republicans,” along with Palestinian flags, signs denoting amnesty for migrants and promoting LGBTQ rights.
During the march, protesters chanted such slogans as “Whose streets? Our streets,” “Hey, hey, ho, ho / Republicans have got to go” and “Free Palestine.”
A handful of counter-protesters set themselves up in the park to debate the anti-Trump demonstrators and to provoke them on their views on matters ranging from abortion to LGBTQ issues.
Protesters said when they first heard about the near-assassination of Mr. Trump, they too were in shock and disbelief. Ms. Thomas said she was concerned about the backlash that she and other protesters could face at the convention.
“I was really scared about backlash from Republicans and supporters of Trump. Now that I’m here, I don’t feel that way. I see everybody that’s here, and I feel a little more protected,” she said.
“I’m very excited to march, I was definitely scared because retaliation, I think, will rise in the next coming years, but also the coming weeks.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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