'Going to be like The Purge tonight': Milwaukee reacts to Trump shooting

MILWAUKEE — In the hour after former President Donald Trump was apparently struck in the ear with a projectile at a rally in Pennsylvania, people preparing for the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin met the news with a mixture of shock, bewilderment and vigilance.

Michelle Altherr, a Republican National Convention delegate from Arizona, stood outside Fiserv Forum and raged: “When you think about it, you’re like, no, this just ramped up to another level. If you thought we were MAGA and extreme before, we went to another level now. When you see on the video Trump is mouthing 'fight, fight' — oh, no, he didn’t have to say it. We’re at another level.”

“Get ready, it’s going to be like 'The Purge' tonight,” a late 20-to-early-30-year-old server said as the former journalism student exited the bar and raised a loosely clenched fist.

“They didn’t have an excuse,” the local server said. “Now they do.”

Trump is scheduled to be in Milwaukee this week to name his vice presidential running mate and formally accept the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Milwaukee is — and has been — braced for violence ahead of the Republican National Convention.

“Oh, Trump just got shot here?” a local in a summer sleeveless tee and jean shorts asked.

“No,” a bartender in the empty bar chimed in. “Pennsylvania.”

“Oh,” she said as she took her complimentary ice water to go.

Another woman — possibly a local, rocking lots of country club Republican red — inquired.

“Oh, that was Pennsylvania?” she replied, never looking at the bartender as her eyes stayed transfixed to the screen. “WOW.”

“Trump got shot in the ear. They don’t think it’s bad. But f—. I don’t know. This is still bad,” a young man in a blue sportcoat yelled into his phone as he hustled down 2nd Street near the Fiserv Forum, where the GOP convention is being conducted.

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The streets in downtown Milwaukee were lightly populated on Saturday when news of the shooting took place. Full security protocols and street shutdowns near convention venues aren’t set to go into effect until Sunday, with the convention itself beginning Monday.

But near the Fiserv Forum, along Kilbourn Avenue, 20 police officers patrolled up and down on bicycles at one point. Several cruisers, with lights on and sirens off, slowly rolled down perimeter roads.

A large, unmarked helicopter circled low overhead with two people, on tethers, hanging out the open side door.

In the restaurants along King Drive, TV screens flipped to Fox News and CNN, and patrons watched on loop the scene where Trump apparently was hit in the ear with a projectile, his face streaked with blood as seen in an Associated Press close-up photo.

Angie Prowell from Kentucky had just come from a boat ride and was walking toward Fiserv Forum to take a picture.

“My daughter screamed, 'Oh my God, Trump just got shot,'" Prowell said. “My stomach hurt. My next reaction was, 'I’m not shocked. I expected this.' That’s what I expect from my country anymore. It’s sad. That’s what we’ve become.”

Coleman O’Donovan of Lake Forest, Ill. and Jeanine Sweeney of Milwaukee, said they were walking in a plaza outside Fiserv Forum when they heard the news.

“We were just talking about where the security snipers would be,” O’Donovan said.

They got updates on Trump’s situation in the most direct of ways — by standing near where ABC’s Jonathan Karl was reporting in the plaza.

“It’s horrifying,” Sweeney said. “It was terrifying. It should be a happy time — democracy in action. People need to take a breath. This is just crazy.”

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Altherr, the Arizona delegate, compared the presumed attempted assassination of Trump to the "shot heard ‘round the world."

"The enemy has just overplayed his hand because it’s just taking a whole lot more people to another level," Altherr said. "Now is not the time to be cowering and being afraid and ashamed to say that you support President Trump."

Altherr encouraged Trump supporters to start "taking to the streets."

"We are the majority. Start coming out of the closet and start supporting President Trump. He’s willing to put his life on the line. You better start putting your ego on the line for him," Altherr said.

Trump's campaign issued a brief statement Saturday afternoon saying Trump, who was observed with blood on his face and, is “fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow."

Later Saturday evening, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee issued a joint statement saying: President Trump looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States. As our party's nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again."

Said MKE 2024 Host Committee Chairman Reince Priebus: "Guests have already begun to arrive in Wisconsin, and we look forward to working with the Republican National Committee to welcome everyone to Milwaukee this week."