WAUSAU - Dylan Yang's mother, Anna Vue, was among the hundreds of demonstrators in downtown Wausau on Tuesday, assembled to protest injustice and bullying and to show support for Yang and his family.

The Save Our Children peace march was a protest and a response to the March trial of 16-year-old Dylan Yang, who was convicted as an adult of first-degree reckless homicide.

"I thought I was alone, but it is so good that everyone heard my pain and cry," said  Vue. "Everyone came together to make a difference, make sure we don’t lose another Isaiah and Dylan to the system."

In February 2015, two groups of boys clashed first on social media and then in a physical fight at Yang's home. He fatally stabbed 13-year-old Isaiah Powell after seeing Powell fire a pistol. It turned out Powell's weapon was a BB gun; Yang claimed self-defense.

Demonstrators said Yang suffered injustice in the legal system and feel the school district should have done more to intervene and mitigate the conflict between the teens and bullying that led up to it.

Speakers and participants called for action against bullying, others want to see improvement in the court system and others came to heal and reflect. The group released white and yellow balloons after a moment of silence for Powell and Yang.

Show of solidarity

Many demonstrators wore green shirts at the march, which went up and down Grand Avenue. Attendance estimates ranged from 400 to 1,000 marchers. Supporters prepared 2,000 to 3,000 egg rolls to feed the crowd.

The crowd circled south from Wausau's downtown and shouted "I am Dylan Yang" outside the jail, hopeful that he would hear them inside.

Seventy-year-old Mai Yang Khang said she has never seen the Hmong community come together as it did Tuesday. Khang traveled from Wisconsin Rapids for the march and to show support for Yang and his family. She spoke in Hmong to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Intern Austeen Yang, who translated.

Marathon County Administrator Brad Karger said he has not seen an event like Tuesday's in his 25-plus years here.

He spoke from The 400 Block stage, saying that 15-year-olds often don't know the consequences of their actions. Dylan Yang was 15 when he stabbed Powell.

"When I was 15 years old, I was no different than Dylan Yang," Karger said. "I am Dylan."

Others came to show solidarity. Tony Gonzalez, the executive director of Comunidad Hispana in Merrill, attended and called for equal justice for everyone.

Alix Shabazz came from Madison with the group Freedom Inc.

"As a black person, I stand in solidarity with the Hmong community and with Dylan Yang," Shabazz said. "America has never been beautiful for people of color."

The march started and ended at The 400 Block and passed by the Wausau Police Department and the Marathon County Courthouse. A group of Wausau-area teens delivered messages en route to community leaders.

"We want to be treated fairly. And we want to be treated respectfully," said 16-year-old Wausau West High School student Angel Thao to WPD Detective Jon Kindlarski. He agreed with her and said he'd pass the message to the chief.

After the fight and stabbing, Dylan Yang, at age 15, waived his constitutional right to silence and answered police questions without a parent or attorney present.

Because of the nature of the crime, Yang was treated as an adult in the court system. His attorney did not challenge that, saying Yang preferred a jury trial.

Many at the march feel Yang should not have been treated as an adult.

RELATED:Things to know about the Dylan Yang trial

RELATED:'Failures' of system a focus of peace march

'On the same page'

Wathai Xiong, 55, came to the protest from Milwaukee, because "Dylan's a kid," he said in Hmong with Austeen Yang interpreting.

Xiong said he does not think it's right that Yang was treated as an adult. And Hmong people are of the same mind and heart about that, he said.

The march also passed the Wausau School District administration building to call for the district to take a more active role against bullying.

Wausau resident Bao Vang, 34, wants to see more done in the schools to stop bullying.

"We failed our children, somehow, with this situation," Vang said. She works with Yang's mother and knows Dylan, she said.

"I don't see any sign that Dylan is a threat," she said. "He's just a regular kid."

Vang, like many others at the march, felt good about the turnout and the unified message of the marchers.

"I feel happy that everyone is on the same page on this," she said. "I'm not alone."

Traditionally, Hmong people have been more reactive to community problems and not very vocal, said Tou Ger Bennett Xiong, an organizer and the emcee of the event. But Hmong youths and elders showed passion and pride at the march, he said.

"I'm inspired," Bennett Xiong said.

There's a fundraiser for Dylan Yang in coming weeks, and the family has hired a new lawyer. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 12, and many community members have asked the judge to be lenient when sentencing Yang.

"We're not done yet," Bennett Xiong said as the march wrapped up. "This is just the beginning."

Nora G. Hertel: nora.hertel@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0665; on Twitter @nghertel.