Republican National Convention: Early Protests Have Cleveland On Edge As Trump Comes To Assume Nomination
Set to kick off Monday, the four-day Republican National Convention has already drawn groups of protesters who have descended upon Ohio’s second-largest city to voice their displeasure. The party’s presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, has both inspired and drawn the ire of large blocs of voters with a litany of controversial statements on women, race, religion and his opponents throughout his campaign that has seen Trump register the lowest favorability of any candidate in seven decades.
Protests began over the weekend, starting with a march in the name of black unity organized by the National Convention of the Oppressed-Black Unity Convention, as Cleveland.com reported. Among the participants was noted academic and activist, Cornel West.
“We want the world to know that we can stand together… If we don’t have the courage to keep our back straight when our brothers and sisters are being killed, then shame on us.”
While organizers expected up to 1,000 attendees, the turnout totaled around 100 and was commented on by speakers and those in attendance. Participants also spoke out against violence against blacks, while others chose to promote solidarity.
On Sunday, a small number of protests were staged in downtown Cleveland, with each numbering in the low hundreds of participants.
According to the New York Times, a march of about 200 protesters, in anticipation of the GOP convention, made their way toward Quicken Loans Arena, which will host the convention. As the group approached the arena, they were headed off and circled by police. There were reports among protesters of rough-handling by the police and members of the march being detained.
Be advised- demonstration heading north on E. 12th from Euclid.
— Cleveland Police (@CLEpolice) July 17, 2016
Another group of about 300 people gathered at the Hope Memorial Bridge to hold hands in the name of peace while in the east side of the city, a number of groups including Black Lives Matter, Code Pink and a pro-Palestinian group brought another hundred people who chanted and carried signs reading “Shut Down Trump,” “Jail Racist Cops,” “Black Lives Matter” and “Jews Against Trump: #WeveSeenThisBefore.”
The demonstration was relatively quiet, as the Times noted that the day had a “feeling of calm before a potential storm.”
With recent events like the shooting deaths of five members of the Dallas Police Department, there had been concerns about Ohio’s open-carry law, which is already controversial because of the deaths of 12-year-old Tamir Rice and John Crawford III. Events Sunday in Baton Rouge, where three officers were shot and killed, may serve to drive the point even more.
John Crawford III was shot in a Wal-Mart after walking around with a BB gun that he picked up in the store. Both shootings, once again, are controversial because of Ohio’s open-carry law.
The Republican National Convention might be an odd place to overrule gun laws, but, as CNN reports, the state’s open-carry legislation is being challenged by law enforcement such as the Cleveland Police Association, who’s president, Stephen Loomis, implored Gov. John Kasich, a former Republican presidential candidate, to take action.
“We are sending a letter to Gov. Kasich requesting assistance from him. He could very easily do some kind of executive order or something — I don’t care if it’s constitutional or not at this point… They can fight about it after the RNC or they can lift it after the RNC, but I want him to absolutely outlaw open-carry in Cuyahoga County until this RNC is over.”
The Republican National Convention will begin on Monday and conclude on Thursday as the party sets up to officially nominate Donald Trump.
[Photo by John Minchillo/AP Images]
