GOP urges Secret Service to move protesters from park near convention arena [View all]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/26/republican-national-convention-protests-milwaukee/

https://archive.ph/vuMGf

GOP urges Secret Service to move protesters from park near convention arena
By Josh Dawsey
Published April 26, 2024 at 5:29 p.m. EDT

The Republican Party is urging the Secret Service to move protesters farther away from the arena in Milwaukee where the party will hold its convention in July, according to a letter sent to the agency Friday and reviewed by The Washington Post.

Milwaukee’s plan to host protesters in a one-block city park about a quarter-mile from the arena is dangerous because thousands of convention attendees will be forced to walk by the park en route to the festivities, a lawyer for the Republican Party wrote in the letter. The park is situated between two main streets that the Republican National Committee says convention attendees will use to get to the venue.

Instead, the GOP wants the Secret Service to include the area called Pere Marquette Park in its security perimeter, which would force the city to choose a different area for its “First Amendment Zone.” Pere Marquette is the closest large park to the arena. The RNC has proposed another park by City Hall across the river from the arena, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

In the letter, [Todd] Steggerda wrote that the RNC asked low-level Secret Service officials to change the plan, but “this critical shortcoming has not been addressed.” By sending the letter, the RNC is escalating the dispute to the director of the Secret Service and demanding a meeting to discuss the issue.

A spokesman for the Secret Service said the agency has not yet received the letter, but that decisions about protest locations and convention security are made by a steering committee of local authorities and federal partners who know the host communities best.

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