GOP asks for protesters’ ‘First Amendment Zone’ to be moved further from RNC convention venue

The Republican National Convention is reportedly requesting the Secret Service move the First Amendment protest zone away from the arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the party is slated to hold its nominating convention for the 2024 election season. 

According to recent reports, the RNC is requesting that the agency move the protest zone from the nearby city park a quarter-mile from the arena due to security concerns for event attendees.

The RNC is scheduled to hold its presidential nominating convention at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, near the Milwaukee River. The Pere Marquette Park, which abuts the river, is the currently designated free speech zone outside of the event.

Attorney for the RNC Rod Steggerda wrote to the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, that the current location of the protest zone “will force thousands of peaceful attendees and demonstrators, who may otherwise choose to avoid or limit direct, proximate engagement with one another, to be in extremely close, consistent, and unavoidable proximity.”

The RNC is reportedly instead requesting the protest zone be moved half a mile away to Red Arrow Park, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity. Red Arrow Park is across the river from the event center and directly adjacent to the Milwaukee City Hall.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service told the Washington Examiner that they have not received a letter from the RNC, but the agency “will respond through appropriate channels” upon its arrival.

The spokesperson added that the security plan for national special events like this “is developed and approved through an executive steering committee made up of representatives from the Secret Service as well as supporting federal, state, and local agencies.”The spokesperson continued, “The operational security plan is based on a variety of thorough security assessments established in coordination with our partners, with the express mission being to ensure the highest level of safety and security for the convention.”

The city of Milwaukee’s chief of staff, Nick DeSiato, told the outlet that the city is facing significant pushback from protesters who want to be closer to the convention. He also said that the security perimeter is “exclusively established by the Secret Service.”

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The RNC did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.

The Fiserv Forum was slated to be the location of the 2020 Democratic National Committee’s nominating convention prior to a location shift amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. The DNC event that year was delayed until late August and held at the city’s Wisconsin Center, which became an administrative hub for the livestream broadcast of the event rather than a hosting site for attendees.