MILWAUKEE — A day after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, authorities doubled down on their security plan for the Republican National Convention as supporters redoubled their commitment to their presumptive presidential nominee.
Illinois Republicans arrived in Milwaukee Sunday with a rejuvenated sense of excitement behind Trump, whose defiant response to the shooting has provided “a shot of adrenaline in our arm” for his already fervent followers, at-large Illinois delegate Aaron Del Mar said.
“There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of anger. But we’re staying positive and disciplined, and as a Republican conservative community, we’re coming together and uniting,” said Del Mar, a former Cook County GOP chair.
“This was absolutely the last thing that the Democratic Party needed. This really gave us a shot in the arm. We’re 100% united,” he said, adding that he felt “totally safe” with the convention set to kick off Monday.
“We’re gonna be leading the nation the next five days, and we’re gonna rock this party,” Del Mar said.
Despite questions about the U.S. Secret Service’s handling of the Pennsylvania rally that allowed a shooter to get within range of Trump, authorities said they didn’t need to make “any changes to our operational security plans” in Milwaukee.
“We’re confident in the current plan that we have,” Secret Service RNC coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino said during a press conference. “It’s based off technical assessments and protected intelligence, and we are continuously monitoring information related to the events.”
The security perimeter around Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, where the RNC’s marquee events will take place, has turned the downtown area into a maze of checkpoints and barricaded dead-ends for many pedestrians. Credentials are required to get within three blocks of the arena and other buildings where thousands of delegates, journalists and Republican officials will gather for the week.
While weapons and many other objects are prohibited within the security perimeter, Wisconsin law allows people to carry firearms, meaning people can carry guns — concealed or not — outside the direct vicinity of the convention.
“That is an issue that we have to navigate, and I will say this and I’ve said this many times: as that is your right, please exercise your right in a responsible manner,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said.
Robin Hans, an alternate delegate from Illinois’ 10th Congressional District, said she felt safe in the city for the party’s biggest event — and the assassination attempt wouldn’t put a damper on that.
“We want someone to lead, and take charge and not be afraid — who gets shot, gets up there and says, ‘I fight for you guys,” Hans said. “He’s behind us, and we just want to support him, too. So it’s kind of like a love fest.”