Frank Jude Rally in Milwaukee

I spent a few minutes at the Frank Jude rally this afternoon here in Milwaukee at the federal building. The rally was held to call for federal charges to be brought against the cops who were acquitted for Jude's beating.

It was a pretty good sized crowd. I would estimate a couple thousand, but that's hard to tell. The anarchists even got involved with a big sign right next to the speakers "Anarchists Against Police Brutality." Jude's mother was one of the speakers.

It was a peaceful rally, but there was definitely a disconcerting undercurrent to it. This is definitely a racial issue here in the city. Most of the crowd was black, as were all the speakers I saw. (Ironically, Jude himself is not, at least I don't think he is.) Someone from the Nation of Islam must have there to speak because I saw a young who at least looked the part of a NoI bodyguard. There were people holding signs proclaiming "No Justice, No Peace" and that there is no justice for blacks in Milwaukee. The last speaker I heard before going back to work promised that if the federal government doesn't clean up the city police, they would tear the city up. He then led the crowd in a chant, "We are ready for war."