MILWAUKEE, United States, July 16 (Xinhua) -- On Monday, over 1,000 people protested near the Fiserv Forum, the venue of the 2024 Republican National Convention as many more cheered inside the stadium, highlighting the deep division of political views among U.S. voters.

People from near and far were drawn into the battleground state of Wisconsin as the Republican Party kicked off its four-day national convention in Milwaukee on Monday.

Peter Wilt, a sports executive from Whitefish Bay, a northern suburb of Milwaukee, attended a rally to advocate "banning automatic weapons" and "saving democracy."

"I'm hoping that the tragic events in Pennsylvania will motivate Republicans to vote in common sense gun laws. It's silly that we allow automatic weapons in the United States," said Wilt, referring to the assassination attempt against former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday.

Sitting in a folding camping chair from a higher place, Wilt watched the rally at Red Arrow Park with a placard that read "Save Democracy" and "Now Will U Ban Automatic Weapons?"

"Trump is taking us down a fascist path ... and we all need to come" out and "vote to stop Trump," Wilt told Xinhua.

Sedate Holland Kohler, a local resident who took her day off to attend the rally, said, "We welcome people of all viewpoints. But we do not welcome the hate and the divisiveness that the followers of Donald Trump perpetuate."

Holding a sign with the hashtag, "Never Trump," Kohler said she would continue to support the truth and do what she can to help build on the message of civic duty and stand up against lies and hate.

Meanwhile, a few counterprotesters put up signs at one corner of the park decrying abortion as domestic violence and "Black Lives Matter" as racist thugs.

Delegates to the convention cheered as Trump received enough delegate votes to officially become the party's nominee in the 2024 presidential election. Trump picked Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday.

Many GOP delegates moved to the music and celebrated the announcements on the meeting floor.

Lisa Stickan, chairperson of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County in Ohio, told Xinhua that she was excited about Vance's nomination as Trump's running mate.

"We are here to support Trump ... We're fighting with him," said Stickan.

The appearance of Trump and Vance at the meeting later Monday put their supporters in high spirits.

Moreover, many people who joined the protests and identified as independents were critical of both Republicans and Democrats, especially regarding U.S. foreign policy.

One of the main themes of the protests continues to be anti-war and pro-Palestine, with protesters chanting, "Free free Palestine," and holding signboards reading, "Stop Trump and Racist Republicans."

The impressive popularity of Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. as an independent presidential candidate shows how much young people on both sides of the aisle are unhappy with their candidates, said Jordan Mielke, a young protester who lives near Milwaukee.

People want change, said Mielke.

Coleen Rowley, who came with two busloads of people from the Twin Cities of Minnesota, said she has become independent and criticizes the "divide and conquer" nature of American politics.

"Both parties, Republican and Democrat, are doing the same war propaganda. They have the same exact foreign policy. There's no difference," said Rowley, who was a former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a whistleblower on the FBI's failure to prevent the 9/11 terror attacks.

Rowley said she doesn't support either Trump or Biden because of their foreign policy positions, preferring instead to vote for somebody against war.

"They've both put us on the verge of nuclear war. Not true that one is the lesser evil," said Rowley. "Both are terrible." Enditem

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