Do Republicans Twerk Too? An Outsider Look At The Republican National Convention

Thousands of people arrived for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15th. Those seen around town ranged from Republican delegates, SPLC-designated hate groups, people from around the country protesting the RNC, law enforcement from all over the country and others. About 50,000 were estimated to have arrived from outside the city for the week of the convention.

LCRW spent much of its time interviewing attendees, going to some of the larger events and focusing on the comings, goings and responses from delegates to Hulk sightings.

Law Enforcement from as far away as Tennessee were a constant sight during the Convention. LCRW was able to find law enforcement from throughout the country. When not working the “soft zone,” the perimeter about a mile outside the convention, LCRW saw them having their own ad hoc convention and trading patches and challenge coins. Several times LCRW saw law enforcement make small pilgrimages to the Bronze Fonz.

Throughout the week officers made a pilgrimage to the Bronze Fonz, and officers from the Sheboygan Police Department asked LCRW to take photos of them. SPD was heavily criticized just last year for a sexual harassment scandal stemming from 2021. At least one of the officers there was mentioned in it; a female officer working with Sergeant Alexander Jaeger told him Officer Helland had revenge porn of the female officer on his phone. Jaeger then did not check, and is alleged to have told Helland that he “trusted (Helland) to delete any and all media on this topic.”

DAY 1: Protests, Counter-Protests and Counter-Counter Protests

July 15th was slated for a large protest outside of the Republican National Convention. Thousands of marchers and more than 100 different groups were expected to be a part of the coalition. The March on RNC even had to take the City of Milwaukee to court in order to secure a space close to the convention.

Part of the arrangement included the presence of officers from the Colombus Police Dialogue Team, armed police officers wearing light blue vests who attempted to stand as a liaison between other law enforcement officers and protesters. Also there were members of the Milwaukee City Attorney’s office.

Red Arrow Park has special significance to those who gathered as part of police reform, Black Lives Matter and police abolition. The park was the site of the fatal shooting of Dontre Hamilton by Milwaukee Police Department officer Christopher Manney in 2014. In the wake of the shooting a park bench was dedicated to Hamilton, Manney was fired and Hamilton’s family received $2.7 million in a settlement.

As the day got closer, many of the groups dropped out. Some groups combined into one another. The heat rose to sweltering levels that day. An assassination attempt on Donald Trump convinced some the security would be too high and RNC attendees would be hostile.  LCRW estimates about 300 people showed up to the March on RNC.

Though Red Arrow Park, where groups were allowed to sign up for a timeslot to protest the RNC, was reportedly booked for most of the week, few of the groups utilized their timeslots. For much of the week, Red Arrow Park was empty except for various trucks with LED signs.

The March On RNC included a wide swath of causes and philosophies unified under a banner of opposition towards the Republican party. Groups with wildly differing philosophies like the DSA-Milwaukee, Sierra Club, Milwaukee League of Anarchists and Zao Milwaukee Church all co-mingled. Speeches from marchers mentioned a ceasefire in Palestine, abortion access, anarchism, authoritarian communism, democratic socialistm, racial equality, labor unions, environmentalism, native land treaty rights, LGBT rights, African anti-colonialism, advocacy for Yemen, immigrant rights and antifascistm. 

During the March On RNC, other groups less compatible or hostile lingered around the outskirts of Red Arrow Park. Anti-abortion activists lingered near the outskirts or counter-protested; at least one III%er wandered around the edge of the protest and two men in support of Israel all had various attempts at disruption with mixed results.

One anti-abortion group present was Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), a group purporting to have progressive values (they even put it in the name!) but take an aggressive stance against womens’ bodily autonomy. So much, in fact, that they argue the Republican Party’s platform is not anti-abortion enough. The group’s tactics often include attending large progressive or leftist rallies. They are usually yelled at or kicked out. At anti-abortion rallies, they’ve been occasionally seen next to anti-LGBT activists. They have been accused of relying primarily on donations from the religious right; many of the people shouting at them during the rally cited that and called them “fetus stealers.” They’d later leave and arrive at an anti-abortion protest directly outside the RNC gates and advertise a “wedding” protest stunt occurring later in the day.

Official Street Preachers (OSP) would arrive at Red Arrow Park as well while the March On RNC held their rally. OSP is aggressively against LGBTQ groups, Black Lives Matter groups and abortion. They screamed anti-LGBT and anti-female slurs at the crowd via megaphone, flanked by large signs. Several would confront them verbally; members of the crowd wearing yellow vests attempted to prevent those confronting, upsetting several in the crowd.

PETA, an animal rights organization, held a small protest across the street. Drawing a crowd of just a handful of people, they handed out literature to the few talking to them. A person  in a rat costume struggled to dance in the sweltering heat.

One protester brought a loaded crossbow. Another had a (permitted, according to him) 9mm handgun concealed. Firearms were not banned for either the protest or the soft zone around the perimeter of the RNC.

SAG-AFTRA’s contingent included ventriloquist April Brucker, who gave interviews with LCRW along with her puppet Donald. The Trump puppet asked about nearby fast food and said that he was looking for “his qualified documents.”

When the march began, it largely went off without incident. The march stuck to its planned route. Rally marshals did scream at press occasionally to keep their distance as photographers attempted to get shots from the front of the rally. Several pieces of the road had concrete barriers which were ignored by the crowd.

Eventually, the march arrived at an entrance to the RNC. There, some anti-abortion groups including PAAU exchanged shouts with marchers. An RNC attendee stood on a concrete block in Christ-pose. Eventually, marchers began speeches and continued their route back to Red Arrow Park.

Around the same time marchers returned, PAAU delivered on their promise for their wedding performance art. One woman, representing a bride, wore a bloody white dress and held a sign which read “abortion industrial complex.” Another wore a fake nose made out of paper towel rolls and two elephant ears made out of paper plates. “I am proud to be marrying my pro-abortion lover, the GOP!” the bride exclaimed while marchers chanted pro-Palestinian and pro-abortion slogans at them in an attempt to drown them out. As part of their vows, the abortion industrial complex bride yelled “yes, I’ll do anything for baby killing!” They then kissed as Police Dialogue Team officers attempted to get the crowd to stop interfering with the wedding performance.

PAAU members would later attempt to storm the stage, and were physically removed by people wearing yellow vests and police dialogue team officers.

Gradually, the crowd thinned out. One marcher was treated for heat stroke. LCRW went exploring, interviewing and experiencing. LCRW saw another person on the street being treated for heat stroke.

One man was resting inside of a van featuring a motorized anthropomorphic crying penis claiming that all drugs lead to a “dead Willy.” He’s devoted his life, he says, to making sure people know that if they use drugs (including marijuana and alcohol) it will lead to reduced sexual function and eventually complete dysfunction. He’d later tell LCRW that nicotine is not addictive but was unable to provide the literature which contained information proving his claims when asked. LCRW encountered him again later that week with two more “dead willies,” waving their motorized hands.

Two protesters screamed via megaphone at an entrance to the RNC for several hours but were largely ignored.

Later that day, an RFK tour bus would arrive near the RNC’s gates. LCRW began interviewing the driver and was allowed onto the bus for a brief ride. The bus was on the way to a Russell Brand concert near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The mood of the bus was party-like. Occupants were mixing cocktails, blasting via bullhorn an AI-generated reggae Kennedy theme which was later switched to the John F. Kennedy campaign song. Spirits were high despite Kennedy polling poorly. All within the bus agreed that Robert F. Kennedy was destined to win; the driver of the bus told LCRW that despite the Trump assassination (which he baselessly blamed on the Democratic party) RFK, Jr. would be President in 2025.

The bus was driven by Kyle Kemper; probably most well-known for either being Justin Trudeau’s half-brother, an NFT/cryptocoin influencer, Canadian trucker convoy supporter or an avid anti vaxxer.

Topics on the bus while LCRW was there included who was cuter in politics, (Boris Johnson or Bill Clinton; the bus mostly agreed Boris Johnson) and how to get phones to exchange contact information.

As the bus moved into the upper east side of Milwaukee (home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), they drove past a progressive church hosting members of the March on RNC. As they honked and gave thumbs up, the crowd booed. A member of the tour bus then remarked that “of course the Hamas party hates us,” to agreements. Not long after, the bus arrived near the Brand event and LCRW would leave the bus. The Bus would later that week attempt to solicit donations while arguing with Codepink protesters about Israel/Palestine.

LCRW spoke to bar-goers at This Is It!, a gay bar just blocks from the RNC. A patron described the several days coming up to the RNC as “a journey,” but spirits were high as they sang karaoke show-tunes.

DAY 2: MOMS FOR CREEPING ON CHILDREN

Moms For Liberty held a town hall featuring several prominent Wisconsin and national politicians. Moms For Liberty is a hate group which focuses on legislation forcing schools to “out” trans and nonbinary students to their parents. Entering, all attendees were given stickers which read “stop the woke agenda.” The largest cheer from the crowd was during a pre-recorded segment introducing one of the group’s founders in which Donald Trump stated that they were not a hate group.

The townhall was primarily a discussion on the group’s plans for the coming years. Scott Walker, the former Governor of Wisconsin, stated that Moms For Liberty was a continuation of controversial “school choice” programs.

While LCRW was at the Moms For Liberty event, a man was shot and killed by Colombus, Ohio police officers. Samuel Sharpe, Jr., who was Black, was living unhoused and has been described by family members and acquaintances as a deeply religious and caring man. Officers were watching Sharpe in an altercation with another man. Widely reported as being “near” the RNC, the shooting happened on 14th and Vliet more than a mile away from the FiServ Forum hosting the RNC.

Many of the people nearby the shooting told LCRW that they believed it would not have happened if it weren’t for the RNC. Sharpe lived in “Tent City,” a homeless encampment, and family members of Sharpe later told LCRW that he had Multiple Sclerosis and may not have heard the commands of the officers to drop the knife before they shot him.

A contingent of March on RNC and anti-racism groups would later march around the area including the location where Sharpe was killed. Several speakers mentioned that one of the reasons they were against the RNC in Milwaukee were fears of how increased law enforcement presence would integrate into complex areas like Tent City.

LCRW visited Shaker’s Cigar Bar with a few other journalists; the New York Young Republicans reportedly were hosting a party there. Dozens of MAGA-hatted men frequented the upstairs bar. 

Shaker’s Cigar Bar is well known for being a law enforcement hangout within Walker’s Point, the heart of Milwaukee’s gay bar scene. The bar is somewhat infamous for its “ghost tours,” which largely focus on taking attendees on a walking tour of Milwaukee serial killer/cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer’s supposedly preferred hunting grounds. Shaker’s even purports to have reserved the seat Dahmer frequented, though there’s a lot of evidence he rarely if ever went to the bar and preferred other more overtly gay spaces in Walker’s Point.

DAY 3: mass twerking now!

Near the RNC on Brady Street about one mile away from the RNC gates, business was noticeably slow that day as well as throughout the week. Reports of business levels being a “mixed bag,” in downtown Milwaukee were widely reported by others. LCRW visited Brady Street several times and the normally bustling area was slow.

One man pulled a cart he called the “roving anti-trump save democracy tour band wagon.” He told LCRW that he’s been touring the country with his small cart filled with pins for sale for eight years.

“Republicans Twerk Too!” one man exclaimed while LCRW was near the convention. He was selling t-shirts with the slogan. When LCRW asked what twerking was, a young man walking by told LCRW that someone would be twerking. No one responded.

At an entrance to the RNC, online streamer Loulz (real name Shawn Tyler McCreless) yelled racial slurs for Black people at protesters. He’s had a long history of working with other white supremacist Groyper and alt right personalities. Later during the week, he’d be seen with Roger Stone.

A group of Christian anti-abortion protesters got in several verbal confrontations with people on Water Street then made their way to an exit to the RNC. Performance artist/trolls Rod Webber and Michael Picard followed them in hooded robes with upside down crucifixes imitating their manners of speech while hailing Satan and imitating blowjobs. Notably, Webber and Picard seemed to draw a larger crowd than the anti-abortion demonstrators. At several points, the large signs anti-abortion protesters held seemed to nearly blow those holding them to the ground from the large winds that day. On several occasions, one man with the anti-abortion demonstrators harassed women walking by and on at least one occasion a confrontation with one woman’s partner almost came to blows.

A man arrived with a sly grin on his face and unfurled a poster in honor of Donald Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks which called Crooks “a real American hero.” Many of the RNC attendees exiting yelled at him but otherwise there was no incident.

Erie County GOP Chairman Michael Kracker was hosting an event at Duke’s bar on Water Street not far from the RNC. LCRW was invited to attend. Nearly every speaker at the Cornhole court  mentioned that the GOP was in lockstep and that polling suggested Trump was likely at that time to win the Presidency.

Madison Cawthorne went through Water Street gaining cheers as he went down the sidewalk with a woman in his lap.

PAAU was back, demonstrating outside an entrance to the RNC and PAAU founder Terrisa Bukovinac holding a “medically accurate,” rubber fetus. According to Bukovinac, they purchase theirs from Heritage House ‘76, Heritage House is a 501c3. Their proceeds go directly to controversial “pregnancy resource centers,” which are often criticized as being ‘fake clinics.’

Many leaving the convention held signs which were given out at the convention which read “mass deportation now.” Two alternate delegates from Alabama told LCRW that they wanted to “deport the illegals that are here,” and “close the border so no more come.”

The Bronze Fonz remained stationary on the Riverwalk, and was surprisingly ill visited.

DAY 4: BLOODY mary, bloody mary, bloody mary

The Fourth Day began as all should in the Cream City; a behemothic pitcher of Bloody Mary from Sobelman’s. It contained an entire fried chicken, and even the secret service agents eating a burger nearby sat in wonder at its absurd size. Even more astoundingly it came with several pints of beer as a “chaser.”

At Red Arrow Park, many of the same people that had gathered for the March on the RNC organized another march. Going from Red Arrow Park, the march was a demonstration against the Hyatt Regency just outside of the RNC fence. 

Just weeks before, D’Vontaye Mitchell died while employees of the hotel held him down as he cried out the word “please,” repeatedly. Though he reportedly had locked himself in a bathroom at the hotel, the incident involving the employees happened outside of the front entrance. His death has been ruled a homicide by the Milwaukee County Coroner. The employees involved have all been fired.

Brenda Giles, Mitchell’s mother, described Mitchell’s lasting impact as a “legacy of love lives on, shining brightly in the hearts of his children and the community he so deeply touched.”

At the beginning of the Hyatt Regency march, one man with a MAGA hat on ran into the crowd. Repeatedly asking if the protesters had a permit, he accused the protest of being “illegal.” Despite at a few times touching and putting an accusatory finger into demonstrators, he was largely ignored.

Police from several agencies followed the same route as the protesters. At one tense point, police blocked them from going forward on the planned route. The police then moved ahead of the protest, and demonstrators walked toward the Hyatt Regency. Once at the Hyatt Regency demonstrators made several speeches then walked back to Red Arrow Park. Family of both Mitchell and Samuel Sharpe, Jr. spoke there.

Also at Red Arrow Park were two members of anti-trans group Gays Against Groomers. The group had rented a LED sign truck; the two members lingered on the outskirts of the park for most of the day.

The man who warned LCRW that our genitals would shrivel up if we did drugs was back; there were even more animatronic dead penis characters surrounding his van.

LCRW then went to a speakeasy bar called the Safe House. Other reporters were noticeably uneasy as LCRW led them into a sparse alleyway behind a few fine dining restaurants. The unease continued as a password was requested, but eventually let up after they were led to the bar area. LCRW ate cheese curds and had a martini brought to them via pneumatic tube. Magicians were present at a side bar. Less exciting: that among the dozens of insignia from foreign countries were paraphernalia from Nazi Germany.

Afterwards, LCRW ran into several anti-RNC demonstrators who had once again taken their bullhorns at an entrance.

The Saint Kate Hotel hosted a rather large party for the final night of the convention. Hundreds of people filed into the bar as the RNC’s final night wound down. Many left the final night early; more than a few said they had to turn in early. A few watched the speeches from Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock and Donald Trump from the bar.

Just hours after Van Jones made several remarks on X claiming that Amber Rose’s speech was a monumental one, Van Jones and Amber Rose filed into the bar. Their security was hostile towards photographing the two.

As Jazz played at the Saint Kate bar, LCRW watched as many people filed away. Madison Cawthorne once again went past, but rejected requests for an interview.

The statue of Arthur Fonzarelli stood gazing into the long night.