Republicans are continuing their efforts to get the Secret Service to move the "First Amendment Zone" in Milwaukee further away from the Republican National Convention scheduled for July. But the Secret Service isn't budging.
The city of Milwaukee isn't helping either. The zone where protests are being allowed is in Pere Marquette Park, about 1/3 of a mile from the convention venue, Fiserv Forum. Contrast that arrangement with what the Democrats are planning for their convention in Chicago. The "First Amendment Zone" for the Chicago Democratic National Convention is currently a stretch of Columbus Drive from Roosevelt to Jackson. That location is more than 3.5 miles away from the United Center, the site of the convention.
Republicans are wondering why the Secret Service isn't moving the protest zone farther away from the venue.
"Look what's going on in college campuses," a GOP convention planning official said in an interview. "You can just turn on the TV; we know there's going to be bad actors that want to come here. And that's our concern and why we really think [the Secret Service] should include the park" inside the "green zone" around the convention center.
But the Secret Service says that the security perimeter is based on a threat assessment and that it isn't inclined to take more turf than it must — leaving the decision about the protest zone to the city of Milwaukee — according to people familiar with ongoing negotiations between the Republican National Committee and the Secret Service. Republican officials and Secret Service brass have a standing Thursday meeting to discuss issues related to the four-day nominating convention, which takes place July 15-18.
The relationship is strained, with the GOP convention planning official taking umbrage at being told civilians don't have the expertise to make security calls.
"I said, 'OK, well, you're protecting civilians, and I'm asking about everyone's safety,'" the official recalled. "It's ridiculous."
How "ridiculous"? Pere Marquette Park borders the Milwaukee River. The Secret Service is going to cut off waterway traffic on the river during the convention.
"So they obviously view the river as a security concern," the GOP convention planning official said. "Why would you put the protesters on the other side of the river next to all of our guests? If you don’t want boats to be in the river, then why would you let protesters be on the other side?"
Since the Secret Service is stonewalling the Republicans, it's left to the city to protect convention goers. And city officials say they haven't finalized any arrangements yet.
Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Democratic Mayor Cavalier Johnson, claims protesters and the GOP have competing interests.
"We are very open to listening to all the concerns that are being expressed, from people who want it closer and from people who want it farther way," he said, adding that the city has a "contractual and legal obligation" both to provide a protest area and to put it appropriately close to the convention.
Fleming is correct. Recent court decisions require cities to allow protests "within sight and sound" of the convention. So how is Chicago getting away with putting a "free speech zone" 3.5 miles from the convention site?
"I appreciate the fact they [protesters] would like to make it much closer to the convention. But there's all sorts of problems with respect to security and safety of the people in the convention and the rest of the community to continue to work," said law professor Richard Kling.
Indeed, when planning for an event featuring the president of the United States, security takes precedence over almost everything. It's convenient that this benefits Joe Biden and the Democrats and hurts Republicans.
But unless the city of Milwaukee moves the "Free Speech Zone," Republican convention goers will have to run a gauntlet of protesters to get to the convention.
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