I had nothing planned today. My photographer friend texted me in the morning to let me know that he was bailing. He was taking the train back to Chicago. I don’t blame him. The city is deserted. But I’m stuck here until Thursday night.

Before I started photographing protests, a lot of my photos were of street art and graffitti. So I did a quick search for street art in Milwaukee, and I found an area called Black Cat Alley, an “outdoor art gallery” in an alley. I think I got some great photos!

Then I headed over to the area of the convention to see if anything was going on. I parked in my usual spot near the Red Arrow Park. Once again, nothing was going on there. The LED trucks still lined the street though. And then someone was protesting drugs. His message was Don’t Use Drugs; Save Your Willie. Then he had five-foot tall “willies” surrounding the van. Not really sure what that was all about.

I had decided I would probably spent most of the day in the Third Ward, shopping and working on my computer with an iced cold latte. But before I got too far, I spotted a group marching in single file,one carrying an American flag, one a South Korean flag, and one a Trump flag. Behind them was a group of South Koreans. Hmmm. Where were they going?? I was on the move.

A group of cops from Wisconsin, outside of Milwaukee, spotted them the same time I did, and they also were now on the move. They slipped in behind me as we all followed them.

I turned around to joke with the cops. I said this was something I certainly didn’t expect, the South Koreans marching. Then we chatted a bit about how calm the last few days have been. One of them mentioned the fact that Monday was especially hot and that’s probably why so few showed up to protest.

My response was that someone must not feel very stongly about their cause if a little hot weather stops them. He shook his head and reminded me, “But it was really hot.” I agreed and let him know that I was there the whole day and that I knew it was hot. More importantly, I said, “If you are against, let’s say a war we are funding where hundreds of thousands and warm temperatures keep you from attending a protest, then you don’t have much conviction.” He just shook his head.

Now I wanted to get away from them. The flag bearers were moving fast. I didn’t follow them but instead took another street, quickening my pace, hoping to cup them off at the pass.  Of course they were headed the opposite direction of the Third Ward, where I had been headed. I laughed at myself. I am on the hunt.

And lucky me, I did catch them walking up the street that borders the red pedestrian security zone. I’m so grateful I followed them. This is where the main entrance into the convention grounds was. During the protest march on Monday, this is where a pro-life group was protesting.

I could see there were a lot of people gathered in the intersection by the entrance. The first thing I noticed was a man with a bike who was holding a laminated poster. A group of photographers and streamers gathered around him. I squeezed my way in. Oh God. The poster had the school photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks. Above the photo it said his name and RIP. Underneath, it said An American Hero.

As you can imagine, that did the job it was intended. People were pissed. And there are always those who just cannot help themselves, those who have to engage. It was so obvious this guy was a troll, purposely trying to provoke people, and I hated to see people take the bait. I am happy to say that after a while, his message got lost in the cacophony of the protests, yelling, singing, and prayers that surrounded the intersection. He stood alone for a while before rolling up his poster and riding off.

An older bearded man played the guitar and played religious songs: Amazing Grace, My God Is an Awesome God, etc. His voice was one of the most painful I have had the pleasure of listening to. But he had plenty of enthusiasm. He was mostly ignored as well.

A fire and brimstone preacher had a microphone and implored us to accept Jesus. At one point, the man with the Crooks poster moved his bike over to stand right next to the preacher. The preacher walked right up to him and put out his hand to shake it. Those of us around him could only catch a word here and there, but he was clearly thrying to appeal to this man’s humanity. He put his arm around him, and the man didn’t flinch or push back. At one point, they prayed together. It was quite remarkable. And imspirint. What a better way to deal with someone like him who is simply there to cause trouble.

Then we were lucky enough to be entertained by a friend from Monday’s protest: the gay man with the megaphone who engaged with every counter-protester extra loudly and shockingly obnoxiously. On Monday, it was clear that he was an expert at this. The things he said were rediculous, he was relentless, and he was indefatigable. Later that night, someone posted on X twith a video of him that he is a paid provocateur, that she sees him in multiple cities. That actually made sense to me. Most people at the protest had their issue, whether climate change, abortion, or immigration, and they held signs and banners. But this guy didn’t seem to have a cause or an organization. He was only interested in responding to counter-protsters.

He did the same today. 

“I love abortion!”

“Trump cheated on his first wife, cheated on his second wife, cheated on his third wife, and paid a porn star to shut the fuck up.” This chant went on for nearly an hour. 

After I had been taking photos for a couple of hours, I decided to go down the street and get a cold beer and rest my feet. Even a block away, I could hear that guy screaming in his megaphone.

And again, some people just couldn’t stop themselves and fought back. A man would challenge him, red in the face, enraged. And this guy wouldn’t flinch. He’s a small, skinny man, and part of his schtick is to dance aorund flamboyantly. So even when a man twice his size was spitting in his face, he remained steadfast. Never nervous. Never rattled. He would just yell in the megaphone, “Don’t touch me, bitch.” Only a professional, with many hours of doing this under his belt, could be so unaffected by the backlash to his behavior.

One particularly funny moment came when Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida, walked by to enter the red zone. This guy spotted him immediatley, before anyone else (which also signaled to me that he is paid). He raced over as close as he could get, screaming at him. I don’t even know what he was saying other than calling out his name.

Another friend from Monday was in the area, a young man, probably a teenager, with a yamaka and a sign that said, “Trump: Baby Murderer.” He also had a megaphone. As soon as he heard Matt Gaetz was there, he raced over as well. He spit viterol to Gaetz about how the Republicans are baby-killers.

So there they were. The gay man who shouts “I love abortion. Thank God for abortion,” and the pro-life Jewish teen stood shoulder to shoulder screaming at Matt Gaetz.

Politics does indeed made strange bedfellows. Right next to the entrance is Mader’s, a well-known authentic German bar and restaurant. Twice, a VIP left Mader’s and went through the entrance. I’m not sure who they were, and I’ll have to look through my photos to see if I recognize anyone in the group. But I know they were VIPs because of the security protocal set up for the 50 yard walk.

Both times, a couple dozen bike cops created a parimeter around the front door of the restaurant. Then when the group came out, the bikes moved into two lines. The group walked between the lines, and the bikes moved along with them until they got inside the red zone.

There was plenty of other craziness to keep me busy the whole afternoon, but after a while, I was ready to take a break. I still wanted to go to the Third Ward. I drove over there and easily found a parking space. I know I keep bringing up parking. It just never occurred to me that parking would be no problem during this convention. I went up to the rooftop at The Journeyman and had an icy cold Spotted Cow draught. 

It turned out to be a pretty interesting day! 

---

Read RNC Day 1, RNC Day 2, RNC Day 4