On June 5, 2024, we sued the city of Milwaukee for passing rules pertaining to the 2024 Republican National Convention that infringe on protest rights.
In the case, we represented the Coalition to March on the RNC, a group that applied for a parade permit over a year ago. With just six weeks before the RNC, Milwaukee has neither approved the permit nor identified a parade route whatsoever.
The Coalition to March on the RNC – made up of more than 40 groups planning to protest during the convention – applied for a parade permit more than a year ago. With less than six weeks left before the RNC, city leaders have been unwilling or unable to say whether it accepts the route proposed by the coalition and have failed to identify any permissible parade route whatsoever, contrary to claims they made previously.
Instead, they passed an ordinance that limits demonstrators to an undisclosed parade route somewhere in a 90-square block area around Fiserv Forum. Protesters have a constitutional right to demonstrate within “sight and sound” of an event they’re protesting, and these additional rules will render them unseen and unheard.
The ordinance also tried to say that any permits could be cancelled and groups banned if anyone participating had certain past felony convictions.
While the court allowed the parade route, it issued an injunction banning the city from enacting ordinances that purported to limit who could protest based on their criminal record.
A major political convention draws tens of thousands of people and brings national and global attention to pressing issues that Americans feel strongly about. We have a right – no matter our views – to lawfully assemble and make our voices heard.
Our legal team after a court hearing on July 3, 2024.
