f/14nat-milwaukee-rnc-jpgf-facebookJumbo.jpg
Milwaukee was always an unlikely host for the Republican National Convention: small in population with 560,000 residents, short on hotel rooms and unaccustomed to holding large-scale gatherings.
The city is now facing even more scrutiny in the wake of an assassination attempt Saturday night against former President Donald J. Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. On Sunday, Milwaukee officials and the U.S. Secret Service spent the eve of the convention scrambling to reassure the public that the event would be safe, as delegates began arriving and thousands of protesters prepared to gather on Monday in a large demonstration near the convention site.
Even as workers this weekend were erecting fences, posting shiny signs and adding final touches as the first of 50,000 people descended on the city, party and local officials met to re-evaluate security plans.
At a news conference in Milwaukee, Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the R.N.C. coordinator for the Secret Service, said that the agency was “ready to go” for the convention on Monday.
“We’re not anticipating any changes to our operational security plans for this event,” she said.
Omar Flores, a leader of the Coalition to March on the R.N.C., said at a news conference on Sunday that the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump should not affect the group’s plan to hold a rally and march on Monday aimed at conveying their views to the Republican delegates. It was expected to draw as many as 5,000 left-leaning protesters.
There is some uncertainty about how close to the Republicans’ meeting protesters will be allowed to march, as a dispute over that question has simmered for weeks. Mr. Flores said that his group intended to come “within sight and sound” of the Fiserv Forum, the main convention hall. “We have not had safety issues at any of our several marches or events, and we look forward to our family-friendly march tomorrow,” Mr. Flores said.
Others said they were wary of the unknowns: whether any last-minute security changes should be implemented and whether the event could be truly secure after the Pennsylvania rally shooting.
A primary concern for some Milwaukee leaders is the fact that while weapons are banned from the convention center and security checks are expected to be extensive, pedestrians not far from the center will not be prohibited from carrying firearms.
Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents downtown Milwaukee, has objected to the policy for months and attempted to pass a city ordinance to ban firearms near the convention site. But the ordinance did not pass, to the frustration of Mr. Bauman and others.
The city is prevented from regulating firearms beyond state law, officials said.
Mr. Bauman, who is, like many leaders in Milwaukee, a Democrat, said it seemed unwise to allow weapons so close to the convention site, particularly in light of the shooting in Pennsylvania.
“Guns are fully allowed and it was discussed and argued over,” he said on Sunday. “I think it’s very dangerous and creates a very volatile situation, especially if you have groups with conflicting ideology.”
But Brian Schimming, the Wisconsin Republican Party chairman, told reporters on Sunday morning that “everything for the convention is going on as planned” and that he was “not concerned about security.”
“The plans have not changed,” he said. “We are all praying and thinking about the victims. And we will have a convention very, very focused, moving towards the future of this country with Donald Trump.”
He said that delegates did not seem overly concerned about security issues at the convention.
“There are always questions,” Mr. Schimming said. “You know, people are concerned about the situation in Pennsylvania, as we all should be. But I will tell you, in terms of Milwaukee here, there don’t seem to be major concerns.”
One delegate, Jodi Schwartz, 50, arrived downtown Sunday morning after flying to Milwaukee from her home in Palm Beach County, Fla.
“It was a horrifying feeling to see it happening,” Ms. Schwartz said of the shooting in Pennsylvania.
The shooting has not dampened her enthusiasm for the Republican meeting, she added, and did not give her second thoughts about her own safety in Milwaukee.
“I feel very confident that the city is going to take care of us,” she said.
Law enforcement officials in Wisconsin have said they would allow protests as long as they remained peaceful and orderly. Milwaukee officials say that some 4,500 law enforcement officers will travel to the city to assist local authorities, a common practice for cities hosting large-scale events.
Chief Jeffrey B. Norman of the Milwaukee Police Department said that the public should have confidence in the security arrangements because of the long-range planning; the federal, state and local agencies involved; and the funding of $75 million from the federal government.
“I want to reassure not only those involved in the convention but those in our city,” Chief Norman said. “We got this. We got this.”
City and convention leaders have touted the event as an economic boost and a chance for Milwaukee to sparkle in the national spotlight, despite questions over the city’s ability to pull off a nationally televised four-day party.
Logistical challenges have been embedded from the start of the planning: The immediate convention area includes about 6,200 hotel rooms, meaning that thousands of conventiongoers will need to ride to hotels beyond downtown. Milwaukee residents say they fear that downtown traffic, which can be an issue even on a normal day, is sure to get snarled amid all the visitors and security perimeters.
But Milwaukee, where some residents say they have grown accustomed to being underestimated, has hosted plenty of sizable gatherings, some noted, pointing to the Harley-Davidson Homecoming, which is likely to see more than 100,000 people rumbling into town.
“We have our fair share of large conventions, just not ones that are televised,” said Peggy Williams-Smith, chief executive of Visit Milwaukee, which helped bring the Republicans to town. As it happens, the city also has drawn more national note recently, with political strategists focused on Wisconsin’s role as a key battleground in this year’s elections, and with “Top Chef,” the popular cooking show, set in Wisconsin this season.
In a way, Milwaukee has been gearing up to host a national political convention since 2019. That was the year the city was picked as the site of the Democratic National Convention, and city leaders soon began preparing for — and investing in — improvements to ready the place for delegates. In the end, though, Covid turned that convention into an almost entirely virtual event, and Milwaukee was left without much to show for it.
So when the chance to host the Republicans arose in 2024, leaders in Milwaukee agreed. Not everyone in Milwaukee was eager to host the Republicans — Mr. Biden carried Milwaukee County by 40 percentage points in 2020 — but local leaders, including Mr. Johnson, are eager to reap the economic rewards and national attention for which they prepared four years earlier.
The post After Shooting at Trump Rally, Officials Say R.N.C. Security Is ‘Ready To Go’ appeared first on New York Times.
