‘We’re not going to be bullied,’ Kiel Memorial Day March held after bomb threats

KIEL, Wis. (WBAY) - The City of Kiel decided to cancel its Memorial Day Parade due to safety concerns after a series of bomb threats last week. Local organizers put together a Memorial Day March instead to still show support amidst the violent threats.

“When it comes to Memorial Day, our vets, and our military, they throw themselves into the line of fire every single day,” Jeanette Deschene, an organizer of the Kiel Memorial Day March, shared. “This is the least that we can do. To stand up and say we’re not going to be bullied. This is a day to honor them.”

After the series of bomb threats here at Kiel Middle School and no Memorial Day parade to look forward to as there has been in previous years, community members wanted to take action.

Related: Kiel community organizes its own Memorial Day weekend event, defying threats

“You’re talking about shutting down parades for the people that sacrificed for us, they didn’t run in fear from a threat. We’re not going to do the same,” a Kiel Memorial Day March attendee Kevin Nutt emphasized. “These people, they need to be celebrated and heard and we’re fighting for something for a change.”

About 100 people met at the Busty Lush pub in Kiel Sunday morning and marched to Veteran’s Memorial Park taking a similar route as the canceled parade. It was complete with a moment of silence to show support for veterans who gave their lives in service.

March organizers from Kiel and Manitowoc said it was also a chance to come together as the city continues to deal with a Title IX investigation at the Kiel Middle School resulting in four bomb threats this past week.

Related: No bomb found at Kiel Middle School after latest threat

“It’s been unusual to, say the least. To wake up every day, same thing. It’s not the same thing you want to wake up to,” Jon Bos, an attendee at the Kiel Memorial Day March, shared. “Mike [Schisel] will get to work and I would either tell him or he would tell me that there was another bomb threat or something around the lines of trying to cause a stir here in Kiel.”

“There’s been obviously a little bit of divide when it comes to everything going on with the school board,” Michael Schisel, an organizer of the Kiel Memorial Day March, highlighted. “But, this is meant to distract from that and remind us that we’re here together. In terms of the bomb threats it’s been scary. Everyone is saddened that we have to wake up and hear about it everyday but hopefully this starts to help heal us all.”

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