Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee protest group slams RNC demonstrations plan, vows to march its own route
Republican National Convention sets safety perimeters, protest zones
The Secret Service and the City of Milwaukee discuss the security measures and protest zones that will be in place during the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Secret Service
Hours after the demonstration areas for next month’s Republican National Convention were unveiled Friday, the most prominent group planning to protest the event slammed the plan and vowed to march its own route.
Omar Flores, co-chair of the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024, rejected the city’s plans for demonstration areas at parks on the north and south ends of a “hard” security zone that will encompass the primary convention sites of Fiserv Forum on the north down to the Baird Center on the south.
“It’s completely insulting for them to offer either of those parks because they’re not within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum,” Flores said at a press conference outside the federal Courthouse where earlier discussions failed to produce a resolution to the group’s lawsuit against the city over its plans for demonstrations.
On Friday, representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, city and Milwaukee County announced the location of the demonstration areas and a march route in addition to the boundaries of a hard security zone that credentials will be needed to enter for the July 15-18 event.
Of note was the inclusion of Pere Marquette Park in the hard security zone, a move the Secret Service had previously resisted despite pressure from Republicans to do so. The city had been expected to designate the space just west of the Milwaukee River and two block from Fiserv Forum as a demonstration area, causing consternation for Republicans, the Coalition and nearby businesses for different reasons.
Two demonstration areas will instead be located at Haymarket Square on the north side of the hard zone and at Zeidler Union Square on the south side.
A demonstration march route will be on the south side of the hard zone, beginning and ending at Zeidler Union Square.
“We believe we provided premier access on both the south and the north side,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s Chief of Staff Nick DeSiato said.
He pointed to the area where the march route will take demonstrators directly up to the fence outside the Baird Center, where media from around the nation and globe will be working.
On the north side, he said, demonstrators will be close to Fiserv Forum, where primary convention activities will take place. Former President Donald Trump is expected to formally accept the party’s nomination in the arena during the convention, setting up a rematch of the 2020 race for the White House between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden.
The northern demonstration zone is also by an area where delegates will be entering, DeSiato said.
Citing the group’s lawsuit, he said he could not speak to how the city would respond if anyone chose to march a route different than the one designated by the city.
It’s difficult to gauge how many people will choose to demonstrate at the city’s designated areas because the city does not ask how many people are expected to accompany the applicant, he said. About 100 applications have been filed with the city to demonstrate during the RNC, he said.
“We also suspect that just like any national convention, there’ll be some ad hoc demonstrating,” he said. “And if you’re lawfully demonstrating on a sidewalk, you can lawfully demonstrate on a sidewalk. If you’re lawfully demonstrating on public property, you can lawfully demonstrate on public property.”
Flores vowed to march a route the group expects to release soon, saying it will be a “family-friendly protest.” And while he said the group does not plan to try to march into the hard zone, the group won’t be limited to the sidewalk, either.
Flores said he expected thousands of people to be part of the group’s march, making it unsafe to try to squeeze onto the sidewalk.
As for the group’s plans to march its own route, he said, “If MPD is serious about what they’re saying, then we shouldn’t be worried about any type of arrest and honestly, I’d encourage them to not even show up.”
At an earlier press conference, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said police would seek to be patient and communicative, though he said there would be limits.
Friday’s back and forth was the latest in a monthslong debate over the city’s plans for demonstrations during the convention.
Representatives of the Coalition to March on the RNC met with officials on June 17 in an ultimately failed effort to resolve the federal lawsuit the group brought earlier this month over the city’s demonstration plans.
The group is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, which on Friday also criticized the demonstration plans and the size of the downtown hard zone.
“The large size of this zone makes it more critical than ever that the City take steps to allow for effective opportunities for expression and assembly by those with differing viewpoints,” Tim Muth, staff attorney for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said in a statement.
He also said the inclusion of Pere Marquette Park in the hard zone “cannot be justified” and “represents an impermissible concession to the Republican National Committee, which did not want to see or hear demonstrators near its convention.”
Republicans previously argued that locating a demonstration zone at Pere Marquette Park would force convention attendees to walk right by protestors, creating a “mandated confrontational area.”
Secret Service RNC Coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino cited the RNC’s rental of the Milwaukee County Historical Society building on the park’s southwest corner as the reason it was included in the perimeter.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. Tristan Hernandez can be reached at thernandez@gannett.com.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Jewish community to honor those killed in Australia terror attack at Hanukkah event
MILWAUKEE — To honor those who were killed on Sunday in Sydney, Australia during a Hanukkah event, Chabad of Milwaukee will be honoring the memory of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed, and all those affected at the Hanukkah Festival and Gelt Drop event at Bayshore Mall in Glendale on Sunday evening, according to Rabbi Levi Stein.
“Acts of hate and violence are meant to spread darkness and fear,” Stein said in a statement. “Tonight we are choosing to respond with more light.”
Rabbi Schlanger was among the 16 victims killed during the terrorist attack that occurred at the “Hanukkah by the Sea” event held at Bondi Beach in Australia.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
To honor the memory of Rabbi Schlanger and those affected, Chabad of Milwaukee will be handing out electric tea lights to those in attendance, giving out coins for Tzedakah (Charity), as well as encouraging everyone to do additional good deeds throughout the evening.
CEO of Chabad Lubavitch of Wisconsin, Rabbi Mendel Shmotkin, urged the Milwaukee community, Jewish and not, in a statement, “to come together tonight, not only as an act of solidarity with the Jewish people, but as a declaration that all good people stand on the front lines of this moral struggle.”
“This is a moment for Jews and non-Jews alike to recognize that we are on the same side of history,” he said. “History has also shown that when good people stand together, evil loses.”
Chabad will also be increasing security, Stein said, and will also be working closely with local law enforcement to ensure that everyone remains safe and warm during the event.
Rabbi Schlanger’s wife, who was also shot but survived, was the roommate and classmate of Stein’s wife, Leah. “This tragedy hits painfully close to home,” Stein said.
“Tonight, we gather not just to celebrate Chanukah – but to reaffirm that light, goodness, and humanity will always outshine the darkness,” Stein added.
Southeast Wisconsin communities speak out
In a statement sent to TMJ4, Forward Latino, a local non-profit, non-partisan, service and advocacy organization in Franklin, called out to everyone to “join us in a moment of remembrance and prayer for those whose lives were lost, and then to recommit ourselves to standing against hate and bigotry in all their forms.”
“We are confronted with the painful reality that hate and antisemitism continue to be actively and passively promoted, while too few speak out with the urgency such moments demand,” the statement continued. “During this holiday season, a time of faith, reflection, and renewal, we must each look inward and ask ourselves, ‘What can I do to help eliminate hate?’”
The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Whitefish Bay posted a statement on social media thanking the Wisconsin Jewish Security Network, local law enforcement and everyone who works to keep the Jewish communities safe.
“Hanukkah is a holiday rooted in resilience – a reminder that even in moments of darkness, light endures,” the JCC wrote. “At the JCC, we believe the antidote to antisemitism is Jewish Joy, Connection, and Community, and we will not allow hate to silence our traditions or our plans to celebrate Hanukkah with our community today and for all eight nights.”
“Tonight, as we light our candles, we do so with broken hearts and in defiance of hate everywhere,” Co-Chair of the WisDems Jewish Caucus said in a statement sent to TMJ4. “We are resilient, and our community has never, and will never, hide away in response to this sort of violence.”
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(Courtesy: Milwaukee Admirals)
MILWAUKEE – Ryan Ufko and David Edstrom scored goals for the Admirals, but they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at historic Panther Arena.
Big picture view:
The loss extended the Ads losing streak to five games.
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By the numbers:
The Wolves grabbed an early lead when Bradley Nadeau potted his ninth goal of the season 8:21 into the game.
David Edstrom and the Admirals league-leading power-play knotted the score at one with just under seven minutes to play in the frame. With the penalty winding down, Cole Hara’s shot from between the wheels was deflected in by Edstrom for his fifth tally of the year.
However, the Wolves would score two more to close out the frame, including one by Domonic Fensore with just 0.7 seconds left in the first.
Milwaukee would get one back during the second period courtesy of a Ryan Ufko power-play marker. Stationed in the high slot, Ufko took a feed from Daniel Carr and ripped a one-timer over the shoulder of Chicago netminder Amir Miftakhov.
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The Ads pressed for the tying goal and had a 6-on-4 advantage late in the third period, but Chicago’s Justin Robidas scored an empty-netter to seal the deal for the Wolves.
What’s next:
The Admirals will hit the road for their final three games before the Christmas break, beginning Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. against the Wolves. The Ads’ next home contest will be on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals provided this report.
MILWAUKEE – An issue at the Valley Power Plant caused a temporary steam outage for downtown Milwaukee buildings on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Steam service interrupted
What we know:
According to We Energies, the gas supply to the Valley Power Plant was interrupted on Saturday morning, causing it to go offline. The plant produces steam for downtown buildings for heating.
We Energies says it has restored service to the steam system and is bringing steam back to customers, but the restoration process requires steam pressure to build back up in the steam system. Once pressure reaches safe levels, steam service can be delivered to customers.
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Customers should begin to see service return over the next few hours, and some are already restored.
We Energies says it does not anticipate any more steam outages, and that this issue is not affecting electric or natural gas service.
Show canceled
What we know:
The Marcus Performing Arts Center says its building has been impacted by the steam outage and, as a result, had to cancel its 1 p.m. matinée performance of The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!
Ticket holders will be contacted directly to get further information about next steps.
All other shows at the Marcus Performing Arts Center will go on as scheduled.
The Source: We Energies and The Marcus Performing Arts Center sent FOX6 the information.
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