SUAMICO (NBC 26) — A local activist group says it plans to protest outside a rally held by Republicans in support of state Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel on Saturday.
A release from Indivisible Brown County invited people to protest on a sidewalk outside the restaurant hosting the event. Indivisible is a nationwide progressive political action committee.
Congressman Tony Wied, state superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser and Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain are scheduled to join Schimel at the event, hosted by the Republican Party of Brown County (RPBC), which is calling it the "Save Wisconsin" rally. The rally is scheduled for noon Saturday at Suamico's Townline Pub & Grill.
The protesting group says it is calling to attention to what it perceives as Rep. Wied's lack of transparency.
“We need to know why Tony Wied won’t have a town hall after voting to cut Medicaid," Indivisible Door County spokesperson Mike Brodd wrote in the release. "He will only show up to private events that exclude the public at large."
The group is also voicing concerns about the other speakers, fearing Kinser will "waste our tax dollars on voucher programs" and Schimel will "lose the fair maps we fought so hard to get."
The Republican Party of Brown County's website reads: "This is a private event. You must RSVP and be either a member or a supporter of the RPBC to attend."
We spoke with RPBC president Doug Reich earlier this week about the rally. Reich said he listed the event as private to prioritize members and supporters who wanted to get in, citing limited space at the venue.
"We've never had an issue where we've had a Democrat, like, actually try and crash an event like this," he said. "For them to do something like that, which I think is completely irresponsible, and beyond the pale, it forced us to say, 'Okay, well, I guess we have to declare that this is private so that we can control who gets into the event, and make sure that our members and supporters get in first.'"
Reich clarified that people do not have to donate money to attend the rally, saying registered members and supporters would be given first priority, then other attendees.
"If they sign up [and] RSVP, and then they come with an ID and they're willing to sign in and check in, then basically anyone can come at that point," he said.
NBC 26 reached out to Reich again on Thursday, but did not hear back as of the time of publishing.
