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Hmong March Expected To Bring Large Numbers To Wausau

March Expected To Draw Community Members From Wisconsin, Minnesota, California

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A combination protest/peace march is expected to draw large numbers of Hmong people to Wausau later this month. The march was organized to rally the community after a fatal stabbing.

Dylan Yang, 16, who is Hmong, was convicted of reckless homicide in adult court for the stabbing death of 13-year-old Isaiah Powell during a fight between two groups of young people in 2015. The verdict has led some in the Hmong community to question the legal system.

On May 31, demonstrators from Wisconsin, Minnesota and California will converge on Wausau for a march for peace, according to Hmong community leader Mao Khang.

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Local officials said they aren’t unduly concerned about the march.

“Protest is part of the American way. And as long as the protest is peaceful, reflects well on our community and reflects well on the Hmong community, I think it will be well received,” said Brad Karger, Marathon County administrator.

Khang said the case has affect many in the Hmong community.

“This march has affected not just Hmong in Wausau, but it’s across the nation. It’s a peace march for healing, reflecting, and bringing community together and then addressing anti-bullying, violence prevention and a fair criminal justice system,” he said.

Khang questions whether juveniles should be tried in adult court.

Kham Tong Yang, president of Wausau’s Hmong American Center, said he hopes the march will be educational.

“It’s about our community and our children, and we want to teach them what is right and what is wrong. Getting into fights and stabbing and killing each other, that’s not right, he said.

The march has been publicized by Hmong leaders in Minneapolis and Fresno, California.