Party For Socialism And Liberation Rally Against Asian Hate Deemed As A Protest By Milwaukee County Park Rangers

Several Milwaukee County Park Rangers apparently mistook a peaceful outdoor rally against Asian hate by the Party for Socialism and Liberation as a protest prohibited at any Milwaukee County Park.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

March 27, 2021

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Saturday, the Party For Socialism And Liberation (PSL) held a peaceful rally against Asian hate, but were confronted by an unidentified female Milwaukee County Park Ranger for placing multiple rally signs on Milwaukee County Park property, just a few feet from the Northeast corner sidewalk. The female and a male ranger apparently mistook the peaceful PSL rally as a protest and claimed that it was prohibited at all County Parks.

When the Park Rangers were approached by Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) to clarify what had happened near the sidewalk where a group of PSL rally attendees had gathered and the female park ranger telling them to go across the street was unfortunate and drew questions about the legality of the outdoor rally.

When HNNUSA asked the Milwaukee County Park Rangers to explain what they were claiming, they both said that protests were prohibited at County Parks on videos recorded by HNNUSA. The female park ranger says that she was just advising them to move across the street, for them to have more room to rally.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), it is legal to protest or hold a rally on a public sidewalk and don't need a permit to do so as allowed by the First Amendment, as long as those protesting or holding a rally don't block access to pedestrians walking through and access to buildings are not block.

The PSL rally attendees held their peaceful event at the corners of S. Layton Blvd. and W. Pierce Street in the Southside of Milwaukee and across from Mitchell Park with no incidents reported other than what happened with the Milwaukee County Park Rangers.

The PSL Facebook page posted the following info about Saturday's event by Mitchell Park, "Milwaukee joined over 60 other cities and towns today for a national day of action against anti-Asian violence, the hate crimes committed in Atlanta, and all forms of racism. We must recognize all manifestations of white chauvinism and xenophobia in this country and categorically reject them. We must not shy away from publicly condemning racism in all its forms, whether that be systematic, state sanctioned violence against Black People, or the racist fetishization of Asian Women by a white supremacist."