A peaceful demonstration is planned against a controversial guest speaker at a local Republican Party fundraiser.

Indivisible Livingston will be outside Crystal Gardens Banquet Center in Genoa Township this Thursday evening, from 5:30 to 9:30pm, to demonstrate against former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke. Clarke is the keynote speaker for this year’s Livingston County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner. A strong supporter of President Donald Trump, Clarke resigned from his position abruptly in August after a tenure plagued by controversy and numerous lawsuits being filed alleging abuse and rape in the Milwaukee County Jail. He has since accepted a position in the super PAC, America First Action.

Protest organizer Kasey Helton said that Clarke has a history of being pro-incarceration, pro-mass deportation, and had allowed inhumane treatment of the mentally ill and pregnant inmates while he was sheriff. Indivisible Livingston is hoping to send a message to Republican leaders that Clarke’s ideology and stances on law enforcement, racial justice, and immigration issues do not mirror those of the community and are not welcome. (MK)