MILWAUKEE, WI – Just as the Republican National Convention kicked off, hundreds of protesters rallied outside. People there were advocating for different things but overall, they are pushing back against the party’s choice for president, Donald Trump.
Protesters gathered in a city park just a couple of blocks away. After listening to a couple of speeches, they started marching towards the convention carrying signs, chanting and for some, dressing up. But with all the security checkpoints, they were kept a couple of blocks away. We spoke with people right before the march, they’re protesting for a variety of reasons.
“I really feel we are trying to preserve democracy and we are becoming second class citizens,” said Joli Dellosto. “And I’m fighting for women’s rights.”
“The Republican party unfortunately in the past 8-10 years has been radicalizing from the center right to far right leaning which has been posing threats to democracy,” said Marc, who did not want to share his last name.
“I don’t like the way our morals have gone in this country,” Candhy Bogondas, a protester.
There are some counter protesters here and they’re mostly keeping to themselves staying outside of the perimeter. Even before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, city officials said they are taking security concerns surrounding the RNC very seriously. Some protesters said they were still coming despite the weekend’s events. One protester said he is concerned about the rhetoric.
“No matter who you are supporting or whichever party you’re with, just stop for a second and be careful. Double think, triple think, is it good to- for example, try to assassinate a presidential candidate,” said Marc. “So even if you’re leaning right, left or center, I think we need to defend or common ground which is democracy here.”
