Ron Johnson presses RNC security concerns

It doesn’t look like the Secret Service is going to change the security plan for the Milwaukee Republican National Convention.

Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson met with Secret Service officials Tuesday to press for a new protest zone and other security changes.

“This security plan is unacceptable,” Johnson told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber. “In Chicago, they’re three-and-a-half miles away. Here in Milwaukee, we’ve set up a protest zone where conventioners are apparently going to walk by on both sides.”

Johnson said there are fears in Milwaukee that protesters will not only disrupt the convention, but they could threaten RNC attendees and delegates.

Milwaukee’s officially sanctioned protest zone is slated for Pere Marquette Park, which is less than a quarter of a mile from the Deer District where the RNC will be in July. The park is also between two of the major streets that convention-goers will need to use to get to the convention.

“Why would anybody approve that?” Johnson asked. “And why would anyone resist [changing it]?”

The Secret Service said in a statement Tuesday there’s no evidence that suggests a security change is needed.

“The security perimeter for the 2024 Republican National Convention is based on security considerations, including protective intelligence, risk and threat assessments, and is developed to ensure the highest level of security, while minimizing impacts to the public,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said.

“They’re all on notice,” Johnson added. “What could be a moment of celebration for Milwaukee and for Wisconsin, you know, let’s demonstrate what good people we are, could turn into a disaster if this thing isn’t changed.”

Johnson’s meeting with the Secret Service comes after the top Republican in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell, wrote a letter last week pushing the same kind of questions.