At the RNC, a scant protest footprint — and disappointment
Adam Edelman
Reporting from Milwaukee
So far, there has been a minimal presence of protesters at the RNC in Milwaukee.
Other than a large march Monday by the leftist group the Coalition to March on the RNC, there have only been only a smattering of small and scattered protests through the first three days of the convention.
Heading into the convention, Milwaukee and U.S. Secret Service officials had laid plans for there to be two “First Amendment zones” blocks from the Fiserv Forum, where protesters could gather. (Protest organizers and progressive groups in Milwaukee were critical of the plan, saying the zones were too far away from the convention).
But the two zones have been almost completely empty through the first three days of the convention. For multiple hours each day, both Zeidler Union Square Park and Haymarket Square Park have been totally barren.
That minimal protest footprint was on overt display at Zeidler this afternoon, as Clifford Lee Johnson stood with three friends holding signs protesting against Trump. “I have to say, it’s just stunning,” Johnson, of Milwaukee, said of the sparse protest presence.
 Clifford Lee Johnson, in red, and three of his friends protest in Zeidler Union Square Park.Adam Edelman / NBC News
The four were the only ones in the park. Lee theorized that “maybe the assassination attempt somehow scared people off.”
“Or,” he added, “maybe a lot of people have a feeling that’s just like, ‘Why? What’s the point?’” |
