GOP escalates fight with Secret Service over convention protesters

Top Republican Party officials are escalating their fight with the Secret Service over the party’s convention in Milwaukee in July, demanding that the agency expand the security perimeter of the event so that protesters can be moved farther away from the arena where the main events will be held.

A cadre of senior GOP officials had a lengthy argument with Secret Service officials in Milwaukee on Thursday afternoon, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting. The Republicans repeatedly pushed the agency to widen the perimeter so that a prominent city park about a quarter-mile from the arena could not be used by the city for a designated protest zone. The Republicans also again demanded a meeting with the head of the Secret Service to no avail, the people familiar with the meeting said.

The Secret Service officials – which included two senior officers – told the Republican National Committee that its director was not inclined to meet with them and that the agency was not planning to expand the perimeter to include the park, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting. That infuriated party officials.

Republican Party officials are encouraging other top lawmakers to weigh in, with just two months before the convention.

On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) wrote a letter to Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service.

“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 the letter. “The RNC and Convention leadership have conveyed they have made a request to meet with USSS Leadership several weeks ago and that has yet to happen. That is unacceptable and I request you personally ensure this meeting takes place next week so that these concerns are heard and adjudicated.”

A top aide to Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) also lobbied the agency, according to a spokesman for the senator. An aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) said his office is also reviewing the situation.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service said the agency is “confident” in the plan being worked out.

The plan is being “overseen by an executive steering committee made up of Secret Service personnel on the ground, as well as representatives from other federal, state, and local agencies, who have the greatest understanding of the host city and the expected security environment for the event,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The development of the security plan is based on security considerations, including risk and threat assessments, and is not a political matter.”

The fight comes as Republicans and Democrats are expecting significant protests this summer near their convention sites. Politico reported Friday that some Democrats are pushing extraordinary measures to limit protests in Chicago ahead of their convention, including holding part of the event online. In recent weeks, protests have gripped the country – particularly on college campuses – largely focusing on the Israel-Gaza war.

The RNC fight centers on Pere Lafayette Park in downtown Milwaukee, where the city plans to stage a “First Amendment Zone” for protesters to gather. Republican officials say the park’s location means thousands of convention attendees will have to pass protesters while walking to the arena, which they say could lead to clashes and violence.

The city says that the park is the closest public park to the arena that is outside the Secret Service perimeter and that the city is legally expected to give protesters “sight and sound” to the venue. City officials also say they are facing criticism from others that the park is not close enough.

The RNC has proposed other parks that are farther from the convention site, including one across the river from the arena.

In the 45-minute meeting, agency officials declined to move the perimeter, telling Republican Party officials that there was no intelligence about credible threats that would require the perimeter to be expanded.

Two Secret Service officials, the head of the agency’s team in Milwaukee and a senior member of the protectee division, told GOP leaders that they had conducted a “blast radius” survey – the area around a potential explosion where damage can occur – and that the park was not included.

Arbitrarily moving the perimeter “without something to back it up” could lead to lawsuits, the officials argued.

“We have no information that there will be unrest related to that activity,” one Secret Service official said. Another official said most attendees of the convention would use buses, which would go through different checkpoints.

At the meeting, a Milwaukee police captain also said there were concerns within the community that Republican convention attendees might “terrorize Milwaukee citizens” and “harass minorities.”

“There is fear in the community,” the Milwaukee police official said.

Nick DeSiato, chief of staff for Milwaukee’s City Hall, said that “the captain’s comment reflected feedback from some of our community members.”

The Republicans in the room took umbrage at the comments.

Over and over, Republican officials urged the Secret Service to reconsider. At the end of the meeting, one GOP official told the agency that he wanted all of the media to go through the one checkpoint by the protesters.

“Who does the messaging on the checkpoints?” he said. “I want to make sure the media sees it all.”

The Republicans argued that if clashes occur, they would be blamed and it would distract from the convention.

“Do you watch the news?” one Republican official asked. Others cited pro-Palestinian protests on campuses that have led to arrests and some violence.

Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Milwaukee, said the city “expects a well-behaved group of protesters from a variety of viewpoints.”