Hundreds of protesters are gathering around Milwaukee on the first day of the RNC.
TMJ4's Gideon Verdin met up with many of them at Red Arrow Park.
Gideon says he's heard chants for "justice," and that opposing protest groups are getting very close to each other. As of right now, they seem to be getting along.
Watch: Protesters gather in Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee
He also got a chance to hear from the family of Jacob Blake, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by Kenosha Police in 2020.
The protesters at Red Arrow Park say they are hopeful for a calm day.
"I hope that we're going to have a peaceful protest, a family-friendly march right on Fiserv Forum," said Blake Jones with the Coalition to March on the RNC. "We will be within sight and sound and so hopefully those Republicans will hear us and... know that we won't stand for their racist, reactionary agenda."
The coalition was made up of groups with different messages. TMJ4 spoke to one Milwaukee resident who came out to protest for the rights of immigrants.
"I am the daughter of an undocumented immigrant," said Esther Cabrera. "For me, today is not only about standing up for myself but standing up for my entire family and for my entire community and saying I will not be a political pawn, my experience is not a political pawn, and the experience of my family members they’re not political pawns."
Several protesters came from out of town to attend the protests at the RNC as well. A group from Minnesota came to protest the US involvement in ongoing wars.
Drake Myers was one of those protesters. He says not only has he made the journey to Milwaukee, but he'll also make the trip to Chicago next month to protest during the Democratic National Convention.
"We’re anti-war, so we have to be here just like we have to be at the Democratic National Convention to oppose war," Myers said. "Both parties are parties of war and we have more in common than the everyday people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, anywhere where the US wants to cause wars than where we do with the leadership here that want to cause wars.”
VIDEO: Protesters marching, chanting for justice on first day of RNC
Red Arrow Park is not one of the designated protest zones for the RNC. Protesters are supposed to keep to Ziedler Union Square and Haymarket Square. The Coalition to March on the RNC filed a suit in hopes of changing the designated protest zones, but a federal judge ruled against the group.
Leaders with the Coalition said at the time of the ruling that they would march within sight and hearing of the Convention regardless of the judge's decision — a promise they're currently keeping.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
