[16 / 1 / ?]
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/23/rnc-secret-service-convention-security-00159743
The Coalition to March on the Republican National Convention (RNC) is condemning efforts by RNC leaders to keep protests as far from the convention as possible. As first reported by Politico, GOP leaders issued a letter to the Secret Service arguing that allowing protests anywhere near the convention security footprint threatens the safety of the attendees. In response, the Coalition to March on the RNC issued a public statement criticizing ongoing efforts to limit expression during the national political convention which will come to Milwaukee in July.
In their letter, RNC leaders pointed to a worsening security situation, accusing the Secret Service of not acting on its demands. “Rather than dissipating, the overall security climate has worsened significantly over the past month of the [U.S. Secret Service’s] inaction,” Republican National Committee counsel Todd Steggerda wrote in a letter to the agency. “Your failure to act now to prevent these unnecessary and certain risks will imperil tens of thousands of Convention attendees, inexcusably forcing them into close proximity to the currently planned First Amendment Zone.”
The RNC will be held around the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee July 15-18. The Coalition to March on the RNC has struggled to get a permit to hold demonstrations within sight and sound of the convention. City officials, working in conjunction with the Secret Service, have proposed marking out a stage where groups will be allowed 15 minutes to speak, whether in favor of the convention and republican policy, or against. Meanwhile the coalition, which is made up of over 60 organizations, has yet to have its permit to protest approved by the city.
The Coalition to March on the Republican National Convention (RNC) is condemning efforts by RNC leaders to keep protests as far from the convention as possible. As first reported by Politico, GOP leaders issued a letter to the Secret Service arguing that allowing protests anywhere near the convention security footprint threatens the safety of the attendees. In response, the Coalition to March on the RNC issued a public statement criticizing ongoing efforts to limit expression during the national political convention which will come to Milwaukee in July.
In their letter, RNC leaders pointed to a worsening security situation, accusing the Secret Service of not acting on its demands. “Rather than dissipating, the overall security climate has worsened significantly over the past month of the [U.S. Secret Service’s] inaction,” Republican National Committee counsel Todd Steggerda wrote in a letter to the agency. “Your failure to act now to prevent these unnecessary and certain risks will imperil tens of thousands of Convention attendees, inexcusably forcing them into close proximity to the currently planned First Amendment Zone.”
The RNC will be held around the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee July 15-18. The Coalition to March on the RNC has struggled to get a permit to hold demonstrations within sight and sound of the convention. City officials, working in conjunction with the Secret Service, have proposed marking out a stage where groups will be allowed 15 minutes to speak, whether in favor of the convention and republican policy, or against. Meanwhile the coalition, which is made up of over 60 organizations, has yet to have its permit to protest approved by the city.
