Security Perimeter that creates an elevated and untenable safety risk to the attending public,” counsel to the Republican National Committee Todd R. Steggerda wrote to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in April.
The current Secret Service plan designates Père Marquette Park as the protected First Amendment zone for demonstrations, but Republicans say that’s far too close to the convention spaces, which include Fiserv Forum (where the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks play) and UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The convention expects to draw over 50,000 attendees to the city to watch the President Trump accept the GOP’s nomination for president.
“Having the protest zone this close to the entrances, uncontrolled, this close to the convention center, you’re just asking for trouble.” Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told the Caller.
Johnson relayed his concerns to Secret Service, as did Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I am deeply concerned about reports that the security perimeter around the Republican Convention site in Milwaukee may be creating a likely — and preventable — area of conflict between protesters and convention attendees and delegates,” McConnell wrote in a May 10 letter to Cheatle (pictured above), MSN reported.
McConnell’s staff and Scott have apparently both met with Cheatle in recent days to persuade her to alter the Secret Service plan, Johnson told the Caller.
Senator Johnson also expressed frustration about the Secret Service’s refusal to address GOP concerns.
