RNC requests Secret Service increase protester restrictions for upcoming Milwaukee convention

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has reportedly requested that the Secret Service increase protester restrictions for its upcoming July convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The RNC letter was first obtained by The New York Times and stated it was opposed to the designated area where demonstrators are supposed to conduct their protest.

Counsel to the RNC, Todd R. Steggerda, said those attending the convention would have to pass by the demonstrators to go to the convention. 

The security plan the Secret Service put in place has the protesters at Pere Marquette Park, roughly a quarter of a mile from the convention center, the letter reads. 

“Packing demonstrators into a park essentially boxed in by the two streets that thousands of attendees will be using to enter the convention site will only serve to heighten — rather than prevent and diffuse — any tension,” Steggerda wrote. He added that “forced proximity heightens tensions among peaceful attendees and demonstrators of differing ideologies and increases the risk of escalation to verbal, or even physical, clashes.”

As of now, the RNC hasn't pitched a different location where the protesters could conduct their demonstration.

The Secret Service has reportedly not responded to the letter at this time, stating that they have not formally received the letter. The Times said it received a copy of the letter that had been sent to the Secret Service director "via hand delivery."