MILWAUKEE — The Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 said they made an agreement with the City of Milwaukee over the march route planned for July 15th.
The leader, Omar Flores, said the group will be able to march on the route they want.
The group did make a slight change to the route they have been pushing for.
“This is gonna be only slightly different. There was just one turn that changed. We're still gonna be marching past, uh, Highland and MLK which is like the point we're able to get closest to the Fiserv Forum,” Flores explained.
There has been back-and-forth dialogue between the group and the city for quite some time. This new agreement came on Friday morning.
“We are very proud to announce that as 11AM today, we have reached a handshake agreement with the City of Milwaukee that will allow us to march within sight and sound of Fiserv Forum,” Flores explained.
A spokesperson for the city told TMJ4’s Megan Lee it’s “an understanding rather than an agreement.”
The group plans to march on Monday July 15th at 10:00 AM. The march will leave from Red Arrow Park.
According to the coalition, a member of the City Attorney's office will observe the march.
TMJ4 News learned that 141 different organizations and individuals have signed up to demonstrate or speak out against the RNC through the mayor's office.
Not all demonstration groups will plan to march on the route.
The Poor People's Army will plan to March, coming from the northwest.
"Coming from King Park and marching to the Fiserv Center goes through a couple different communities and neighborhoods that we would like to ask people, "let’s start thinking about an alternative to just the Democrats and the Republicans," said Galen Tyler, a co-founder of the organization.
The organization aims to provide basic necessities to poor and working class people. They have marched at several Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and voiced opposition to the two-party system.
The group applied for a special event permit to march back in October of 2023 through the Milwaukee Department of Public Works. However, the mayor's office tells TMJ4 News, they were not accepting those permits.
Instead, the mayor's office had its own webpage for signing up to demonstrate or speak. 141 different groups or people signed up. None were denied, according to the mayor's office.
"They provided a link to apply for "a parade permit and speakers platform registration form" that would have put them in a lottery to speak at a slot and place determined by the city," read the statement by the Poor People's Army, acknowledging the sign-up form.
"We think first amendment rights, we think freedom of speech shouldn’t be up to option," said Tyler. "It shouldn’t be pick and play where people can stay and talk about their first amendment rights while other spots are off limits."
They will plan to march on Monday. Before that, the organization will hold their own "People's 1st Convention." That starts on July 13. After that, the group will begin marching down to the DNC in Chicago.
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