Here are the arguments made in court over changing the RNC's demonstration plans

With less than two weeks to go before the Republican National Convention begins in downtown Milwaukee, those in charge of security and the lead group planning to protest the event went toe-to-toe in federal court Wednesday over demonstration plans.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin on June 5 filed a lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee , arguing that the city's plans for demonstrations during the RNC violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU is representing the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 in the lawsuit in which U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is now also listed as a defendant.

The coalition is asking U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig to order the city and Secret Service to allow the coalition to march along a route different than the one the city has designated, rescind the city public works commissioner's ability to reject applications to demonstrate based on prior criminal convictions and order that key elements of the city's "extraordinary event ordinance" are unconstitutional.

Much of the discussion Wednesday focused on the Coalition's plan to march its own route closer to the main RNC event venue of Fiserv Forum than the city-designated route south of the Baird Center. As it currently stands, the Coalition's desired route would cross the Secret Service credentials-only zone at Kilbourn Avenue, which connects the primary credentialed zone to the secure perimeter around Pere Marquette Park.

The RNC's rental of the Milwaukee County Historical Society on the park's southwest corner has been cited by the Secret Service as the reason it was included in the credentials-only zone, an outcome the RNC had been pushing for. That, too, became a point of contention in court Wednesday.

Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 seeks protest route different from city's designated area

Coalition organizers have rejected the city's demonstration route as being too far from the main RNC activity at Fiserv Forum and instead want to march near the arena at noon on July 15, when organizers believe RNC attendees, their intended audience, will be there. The RNC has not released a schedule of events.

“If we think about protest marches, where those marches take place makes a difference. It’s not just having a march somewhere in Milwaukee. It’s having a march where that big banner that’s currently on Fiserv Forum is seen in the background,” ACLU staff attorney Tim Muth said after the hearing, referencing the recently installed RNC banner overlooking the Deer District.

Attorneys for the City of Milwaukee, however, contended that the ordinance at issue is not as restrictive of First Amendment activity as the ACLU argued and that changing its plans will impact traffic plans, evacuation routes, staffing, and the more than 100 others who have signed up to demonstrate during the July 15-18 RNC.

Those are "significant harms," Assistant City Attorney Clint Muche said in court.

Fiserv Forum, the city also argued, is not the only space where convention activity will be taking place, and activity at the Baird Center, the RNC venue closest to the city's march route, will not be limited to members of the media. They also argued that the designated protest route and two speaker platforms — one in Haymarket Square by Fiserv Forum and the other at Zeidler Union Square near the Baird Center — allow demonstrators to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Carter, who represented the Secret Service, said the credentialed security perimeter was "narrowly tailored" to government interests, and changes could affect emergency response plans. He also argued that it was necessary to include the stretch of Kilbourn Avenue in the credentialed zone to prevent delays and traffic issues that would result from RNC attendees traveling between the main credentialed zone and RNC events at the Milwaukee County Historical Society on the corner of Pere Marquette Park.

The coalition wants to march across the section of Kilbourn Avenue that the Secret Service is including in its credentials-only zone. The desired protest route would take the march down King Drive from Juneau Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue and back across the Milwaukee River.

During the hearing, Ludwig expressed skepticism that the First Amendment entitles a speaker to an audience, referencing the Coalition's desire to be near the delegates.

RNC rental of Milwaukee County Historical Society at issue in ACLU case

The ACLU and Coalition argued that the inclusion of the Milwaukee County Historical Society in the credentialed zone was an infringement on free speech and asked Ludwig to let protesters cross the intersection of Kilbourn and King Drive to complete their planned route.

Muth, the ACLU attorney, reiterated the Coalition's desire to be within "sight and sound" of Fiserv Forum and questioned whether the inclusion of the Historical Society and Pere Marquette Park in the credential-only zone was for RNC security or to move protesters off the park and farther away from the Republican delegates.

The park on the west side of the Milwaukee River has been a point of contention for months as the city contemplated locating a demonstration area there. The RNC, the Coalition and nearby businesses objected to the park's use as a demonstration area, albeit for different reasons.

That debate came to an end when the RNC booked the Historical Society last month.

Muth argued that there are other convention-related events taking place throughout the city that do not require Secret Service protection.

"What is this super-secret special event where supposedly a Secret Service protectee will be?" he asked.

The Secret Service, in response, said that their decision to expand the security zone was based on the RNC informing them that there would be an event held in the Historical Society where Secret Service protectees would be present. The city and the Secret Service's lawyers did not say what the specific events would be or who would be present.

An RNC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the specific uses of the park and Historical Society that would require Secret Service protection.

Previously, a spokesman said the RNC would be hosting "private events" at the Historical Society and was considering Pere Marquette Park as a location for Convention Fest, a daytime experience for ticketed convention guests, and a space to feature local businesses.

The ACLU also argued that the credentialed zone did not have to be contiguous, as Henry Maier Festival Park is not connected to the rest of the security zone. If the Historical Society was not contiguous with the rest of the security zone, the Coalition protesters could cross Kilbourn Avenue on their planned route.

However, Carter said that a non-contiguous area around the Historical Society would create logistical problems and that attendees would have to re-screen if they went between the two areas were they not contiguous.

Court decision pending on Coalition to March on the RNC desired protest route

Ludwig did not issue a decision during the hearing that stretched longer than three hours Wednesday. He said he would get a decision to the parties as soon as possible.

Coalition co-chair Omar Flores expressed optimism that Ludwig would find in the group’s favor, despite Ludwig’s comment in the hearing that his review of past court cases seemed to indicate judges often defer to security professionals in circumstances like these.

“We do feel really confident in our case, especially surrounding the credentialed zone,” he said.

Flores said organizers expect about 5,000 people to attend the march, which he said would take place on a route coalition organizers dictate as opposed to the one the city has permitted.

If Ludwig does not allow the group to cross Kilbourn Avenue, Flores said the group would have to adjust its planned route.

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. Tristan Hernandez can be reached at thernandez@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here are the arguments made in court over changing the RNC's demonstration plans