Hi John, The first two days of Abortion Access Front’s Garbage Fyre Festival in Milwaukee is in the books, but I must say Operation Save America made a poor showing! Maybe it’s because they only realized on FRIDAY that AAF and our fierce friends — or as they called us, “a who's who of wicked perverse evildoers” — were not going to let them go unchallenged. This panicked call went out from the leadership of OSA to their followers, along with a press release.  Hell YES we did! Thanks to all of you who donated to our Spring Fundraising Campaign. In addition to our team, hundreds of activists from dozens of other organizations from across Wisconsin and across the country have already shown up to stand with us against these fanatical bigots. Our first day of action began with our friends at Drag Queen Story Hour MKE, who found out that they were going to be a target for OSA’s “agitating”. We joined with the DQSH organizers to make this event our first rally! Twenty-five families with kids enjoyed their story hour, protected by over 200 kick-ass Milwaukeeans who were ready to tell OSA that HATE isn’t welcome in their city! But after some of OSA’s spies did a drive-by, they didn’t even show! Next was our official kick-off rally in partnership with AccessFest and SURJ Milwaukee that included a radical marching band called Clamor & Lace and AMAZING local groups working for reproductive access, health and justice in Wisconsin: the Midwest Access Coalition, Madison Abortion Defense, One Wisconsin Now, and The Doula Project (just to name a few)! And guess what? No OSA “agitators” there either!  Clockwise from top left: Radical Marching Band Clamor & Lace; Drag Queen Story Hour; Garbage Fyre Fighters blocking antis' signage in Juneau Park and protesting as Antis on their downtown Milwaukee tour Alas, on Day Two the local abortion clinics were open and OSA started their predatory bullshit by harrasing health care providers and patients seeking care. We set up several blocks away to lure those creepy assholes away from the clinic, and true to form, they just couldn’t help themselves. The B team showed up across the street with giant fetus signs. But we had giant “Hateliner” posters of our own, and no one could see or hear their deceitful garbage. Then they held a rally which supposedly celebrated escaped slave, Joshua Glover (take that name out of your mouth, antis!) because they like to equate themselves with the abolition movement. Seriously. They then marched through the streets with their gruesome signs, and we mirrored them, silently, across the street with our own giant signs calling out their lies. So many Milwaukeeans honked or stopped to thank us for being there… and we were so happy that we could be! OSA better believe we have a huge response planned in response to all of their garbage this week—large scale counter protests in Milwaukee and Madison; activist teach-ins; and, of course Abortion AF: The Tour shows. It’s not too late to chip in to support all this wild work to build stronger reproductive rights networks and hold space for independent clinics to provide safe and essential abortion care. Sending solidarity from the ground in MKE, xx Lizz  |