Cavalier Johnson sued over event access
Members of Original Black Panthers, Brown Berets barred from attendance
Members of a group with a history of disrupting city meetings and events have sued Milwaukee Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson, accusing him of barring their entry into a town hall event on Oct. 16.
The federal lawsuit was filed last month by Darryl Farmer of the Original Black Panthers and Walter Garron of the Brown Berets.
Farmer posted a video that shows part of his interaction with a Milwaukee police officer at the October town hall at
Redemption Lutheran Church in the city’s Silver Spring neighborhood. In the video, an officer stands in front of the doorway restricting Farmer, Garron and their groups from entering. At the time of the event, Johnson was the Common Council president and had not yet been appointed acting mayor.
Johnson’s spokesperson, Jeff Fleming, said the lawsuit is without merit. “The actions of police were entirely appropriate,” Fleming said.
Fleming said the city will move for dismissal of the lawsuit in April.
Walter Stern, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, has asked the court to delay activity because he will be “suspended from the practice of law for 60 days.”
Stern is suspended for violating a Wisconsin Supreme Court rule by participating in a business transaction with a client without advising the client, in writing, of an opportunity to seek independent legal counsel.
Farmer acknowledged the suspension but said “I trust and believe in Walter and if there’s any questions about that, you all have to talk to him. He’s still going to be on the case with us. Because he’s a good lawyer, our great civil rights lawyer.”
Farmer along with his group’s members and supporters have disrupted city meetings and events in the past. In 2018, Farmer and his group disrupted The Hop streetcar’s launch event. The Black Panthers also protested Summerfest in 2019.
At a Dec. 14 Common Council meeting, Farmer threatened to sue Johnson and police officers who told him he had to leave because he was causing a disturbance. At one point he yelled across the chambers, calling council members a “joke” and swore as he was escorted out.
Farmer told the Journal Sentinel his organization “wanted to bring a light to how Milwaukee continues to be the most racist and hyper-segregated cities in America. There is no economic development plan in place for the impoverished Black and brown communities.”