George Floyd Protesters Block Traffic In Madison, March Through Milwaukee

Protests demanding justice for George Floyd — the Minneapolis man killed last week in police custody — and broader police reform continued unabated Monday, with hundreds of demonstrators in Madison cutting off traffic on a major roadway and hundreds marching through Milwaukee.

Anticipating another night of protests, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced Monday evening she was extending the city’s emergency proclamation and extending the overnight curfews for two more days. The curfew began at 9:30 p.m. Monday and ends at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, a Monday evening march continued through the city. The Milwaukee Police Department said Monday officers would enforce the citywide curfew Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced. The curfew is from 9 p.m. Monday to 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Protests have also been reported in Waukesha and Racine, with others in Janesville and Appleton.

Protesters Rally In Major Madison Thoroughfare

A coalition of Madison-area groups comprising Freedom, Inc., Urban Triage and a local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized Monday’s demonstration in the city’s downtown.

A few hundred protesters marched from the Madison Police Department headquarters, through the city’s downtown and ending up at John Nolen Drive, a major thoroughfare in the city. There, protesters led chants and chained arms, forming a barrier across the roadway for hours.The street was blocked as many protesters indicated they planned to stay there through rush hour.

At around 7:45 p.m., the protesters began to march down John Nolen Drive and headed through city streets and rallied again at the City-County Building and the Dane County Public Safety Building near the state Capitol. The group then continued down State Street. Minutes before the city’s 9:30 p.m. curfew was to begin, the crowd headed back toward the Capitol.

As they marched, the demonstrators chanted the names of African Americans killed in recent years — “George Floyd,” “Tony Robinson” and “Trayvon Martin” — and “black lives matter.”

Monday night’s demonstration was bigger and seemed more organized than Sunday night’s events. As the overnight commenced, the protest seemed to be concluding without major incidents. No police or National Guard were present near the state Capitol for hours and the crowds began to spread out during the early morning hours. There were a few fights between protesters near the end that were broken up, but some were saying to end this peacefully.

As the late-night rally continued for hours around the Capitol Square, a smaller group of people broke glass on many State Street storefronts that weren’t already boarded up. Early Tuesday morning, a blog post from Madison Acting Police Chief Victor Wahl indicated the group on State Street engaged in vandalism and violence. Some threw rocks at police, two people were attacked with a crowbar and one fired a gun. Fifteen people were arrested.

Earlier in the day and before heading to John Nolen Drive, demonstrators rallied at police headquarters downtown twice. There, organizers called for defunding the police, the release of incarcerated black people and increased community control over police activity.

Mahnker Dahnweih, of Freedom, Inc., said media, elected officials and other local leaders had twisted the narrative of the weekend’s protests to divide the community and to “criminalize black youth.”

“Do not use us to perpetuate the white, liberal agendas and narratives around peace,” said Dahnweih. “Peace comes when we end poverty and capitalism. Peace comes when we end violence of all forms against black women, girls, boys, men and LGBTQ-plus folks. Peace comes when our children can be academically fulfilled.”

After about an hour of blocking traffic along John Nolen Drive, protesters practiced making a perimeter. Organizers said they would form one when police arrive, but there was no police nearby.

One protester brought a leaf blower. Someone asked the person, “What’s the leaf blower for?” The reply: “Tear gas.”

Eventually, some protesters began to dance and laugh. They performed the “Cha Cha Slide,” “Wobble” and “Cupid Shuffle.”

As time passed, protesters continued to chant and gather along John Nolen Drive, and Rhodes-Conway came and spoke to the protesters. She said she asked protest leaders to consult on a police oversight commission, but the crowd didn’t appear to be won over by her statements. Many in the crowd yelled about why Officer Matt Kenny is still on force. Kenny shot and killed Tony Robinson, an unarmed black 19-year-old, in 2015.

“Don’t come to me unless you’ve done it already,” a protester told the mayor.

One protester spoke and said government leaders said things would change after Robinson’s death, but insisted they didn’t. Organizers reminded the crowd there will be action “every day.”

Rhodes-Conway said she had reached out to the leaders of Freedom Inc. and Urban Triage “and requested a conversation about how we can work together to change policy and practice to bring justice and support for communities of color.” She said she has had conversations with other black leaders in the community to seek their guidance and input.

She said a police auditor position is something city officials have identified as their “top priority,” and that it will be introduced in Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

March Continues Through Milwaukee

For the fourth night in a row, hundreds of protesters snaked through the streets of Milwaukee to demonstrate.

At least 300 people — plus dozens of cars — were zigzagging across the city in a peaceful fashion for several hours Monday evening.

Many in the crowd were calling for the protest to stay civil.

At one point during the march, someone knocked over a garbage can and a few people immediately shouted, “Hey, it’s peaceful” and “We don’t do that” and “somebody pick up the garbage can.”

The marchers made several stops, including the intersection of 8th and North by the Interstate 43 ramp and the Vel R. Phillips mural to discuss the state’s first black secretary of state. When the crowd passed New York Pizza Delivery, employees handed out water.

Some protesters said they brought baking soda and water, hoping it will help if authorities use tear gas to disperse the crowds. They said a friend was meeting them with goggles and that they had felt the effects of tear gas the previous night at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Locust Street.

Protesters passed the Milwaukee School Of Engineering Kern Center and traveled down Water Street toward the downtown area. They crossed into Red Arrow Park, where a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed Dontre Hamilton in 2014. From downtown, protesters headed north again. They marched past midnight, despite the city’s curfew.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, Barrett said the citywide curfew was imposed to curb any violence.

“Every day, I’d hoped that we could end it,” he said. “And we’re going to have this curfew in place as long as we think it’s necessary and as long as we think it’s effective.”

Overnight reports indicate protests remained largely peaceful in Milwaukee Monday night and into Tuesday morning.

Editor’s note: Erik Lorenzsonn, Laurel White, Shawn Johnson and Madeline Fox contributed reporting to this story.