Republican National Convention begins amid tight security after Donald Trump shooting

The Republican National Convention, held every four years, began on Monday under an unprecedented security cover in the aftermath of a failed assassination attempt on its presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The former US president, Trump miraculously escaped when a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear during an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon.

Trump would be formally accepting the nomination and deliver the acceptance speech at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee on July 18. A day earlier, he is expected to announce his vice-presidential candidate as well.

Trump arrived in Milwaukee Sunday night around 6 pm local time. He is not expected to speak until Thursday night.

His campaign and convention in a joint statement said that they would proceed with the convention “to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States”.

More than 2400 elected delegates from across the nation would gather here and formally announce their decision to vote in support of Trump.

This is for the third time that Trump would be nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. The previous two terms being in 2016 and 2020.

Given the elevated level of security threat to Trump, thousands of security personnel have been deployed at the convention venue. A large part of the downtown in and around the venue and the hotels where the delegates are staying have been cordoned off. Entry and exit to this bubble is very restricted and only credentialed people are allowed.

According to the organisers, upwards of 50,000 delegates, officials, guests, and members of the media from all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia have descended on Milwaukee.

Milwaukee schoolchildren have inflated nearly 100,000 balloons that will be lifted into place for the final minutes of the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Security forces from various states have been deployed to meet the additional security needs of the convention.

To augment security efforts at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, California has deployed 61 law enforcement officers to Wisconsin through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) in support of local, state and federal law enforcement partners at the Convention.

“Public safety transcends party lines. California is proud to support our law enforcement colleagues in Wisconsin during this important political event. Working together, we are helping to provide a safe and secure environment for all participants at the Republican National Convention,” Governor Gavin Newsom said.

The Secret Service told reporters that they are not anticipating any changes to their operational security plans for this event in the aftermath of the assassination attempt.

Secret Service’s RNC coordinator, Audrey Gibson-Cicchino said security planning has been underway for 18 months. It has already been designated the highest level of security event.