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Inside the Democratic National Convention corporate interest moneyfest

CHICAGO — In ballrooms, barrooms and backrooms this week, the business of big business is getting done with Democrats out of public view.

Yes, Bernie Sanders on Tuesday railed before Democratic National Convention delegates about how “millionaires and billionaires” should “not be able to buy elections.” And sure, curtailing “the corrupting influence of money in politics” is a plank in the 2024 Democratic Party platform.

But most Democrats in Chicago are ignoring the socialist senator and stepping over and around that party plank while pursuing cash that corporations and moneyed special interests are all too keen to contribute.

Foremost, there are those who are asking for money.

Take the California Democratic Party, the home state party committee of 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

For $250,000, a corporation, union, trade association or individual can this week claim a “California gold” sponsorship that entitles the giver to a bevy of benefits, according to a brochure obtained by Raw Story.

Among the perks: membership on the party’s finance committee, "private VIP receptions," eligibility for “special” convention credentials, “priority” lodging and the “opportunity to include items in California delegates' tote bags." One's corporate or organization logo will be “displayed at the California Bash” — a tony party on Aug. 21 at the House of Blues Chicago — and “all four California Delegate breakfasts.”

The Texas Democratic Party similarly offers a $50,000 “Longhorn” package.

In part, it buys a taker “recognition as a title sponsor at our delegation breakfasts & Texas reception,” “one suite in our room block (4 nights)” and “4 guest passes for all Texas delegation breakfasts” and “2 VIP passes to the States Party with access to the Foundation Lounge,” according to a party document appropriately titled “sponsorship opportunities for the 2024 Texas Delegation.”

The Maryland Democratic Party features a $75,000 “Chairman’s Sponsor” package.

For that price, you’ll get “recognition in the Maryland Delegation Hotel and at all 14 Maryland Celebration events” along with a host of other items and honorifics.

And the National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit organization led by former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), is promoting its “exclusive landmark event space” to “network with global political leaders” and “400 high-level guests” to “build relationships as they address pressing challenges to democracy,” according to an invitation obtained by Raw Story.

Sponsorships of the National Democratic Institute’s week of Democratic National Convention-themed events in Chicago begin at $10,000 and top out at $250,000 — with a top-tier sponsorship landing the “presenting sponsor” a veritable public relations campaign, ranging from “inclusion of corporate materials at events and in registration packets” to an “invitation to meet Senator Tom Daschle and other high-level leaders.”

Sponsors from past Democratic National Conventions include Facebook, Visa, AT&T, oil company Chevron and pharmaceutical company Amgen, according to the invitation.

Raw Story reviews of more than 20 other convention-themed invitations from political committees, political consulting firms, state delegations and politically focused nonprofits yielded similar offers.

Sunlight dims

Democrats don’t want to talk about this lesser-known side of their national convention, where all manner of special interests have a standing invitation to shmooze with party brass and tour the party’s inner sanctum — for a price.

Officials for the California, Texas and Maryland Democratic committees did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls from Raw Story. Nor did officials from the Democratic National Committee.

Why such secrecy?

Accepting big money is inconvenient for Democrats, who have rhetorically railed against the era of unlimited election spending by corporate, union and certain nonprofit interests, which the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission animated.

But just as it does for Republicans, big money keeps Democratic committees competitive in the age of permanent political campaigns. It fuels politicians’ ambitions and helps keep them in power.

Where exactly this Democratic National Convention-adjacent money goes after everyone leaves Chicago often depends on the individual campaign finance laws of each state. It might end up in a federal, or state or ballot measure account. Maybe all of the above. Or somewhere else entirely.

Some of this money will be publicly disclosed, eventually, just as the Democratic National Convention and its host committee must disclose its funders, eventually.

However, some of the money — particularly if it comes from a politically active nonprofit group that may legally avoid disclosing its own funding sources — will remain unknown to average Americans, just beyond the “dark money” realm’s event horizon.

Since the high court’s seminal decision, Democratic leaders have often argued that they cannot “unilaterally disarm” and simply let Republicans bludgeon them with fat stacks of corporate cash. So they’d play the game in hopes of ending the game.

Advocates for good government are decidedly unimpressed at what they consider pay-to-play political ickiness.

"Sponsorship and events funded by corporate interests during both major political party conventions is yet another way that industry is able to peddle influence and overshadow the voices of real people,” said Donald K. Sherman, executive director and chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

“Until Congress actually attempts to do something about this, the conventions will remain the same,” said Jessica Tillipman, associate dean for government procurement law at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “I don't see either party willing to step up and take measures to reduce influence peddling if they are not required to do so.

The givers

At most, Democrats’ approach to political money is of academic concern to the givers who, for a relative pittance, snag something far more precious than their five- or six-figure contribution: access.

Proximity to power, while never a panacea, is nevertheless a ticket to emails answered, phone calls returned, meetings scheduled and honored. It’s a tool for favorable regulations and prod for advantageous legislation. In a pinch, it’s a weapon against naysayers.

Invest a little now, get a lot later. Make friends, influence people, plan for a rainy day when the government seems more against you than with you.

Raw Story contacted more than 40 corporations and trade associations that, according to federal data compiled by nonpartisan research organization OpenSecrets, spent at least $1 million on federal-level lobbying efforts last year or are on pace to do so this year,

The vast majority of them did not respond to multiple requests for comment on whether they, in any form or fashion, supported the 2024 Republican or Democratic national conventions, or sponsored any political committee, state delegation or policy organization participating in convention festivities.

Chicagoland-based corporate giants McDonald’s Corporation and Allstate Insurance Company had nothing to say. Nor did Microsoft, Boeing, Pfizer, Apple, Comcast, Visa, Verizon, CVS, UPS, FedEx, Honeywell, The Walt Disney Company, Salesforce, TikTok, defense contractor RTX and Facebook parent Meta.

ExxonMobil co-sponsored a Democratic National Convention side event staged by Punchbowl News — one disrupted by climate activists. (The oil giant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

“We don’t have any comment,” said Megan Ketterer, a spokesperson for AT&T, whose logo could be found on kiosks, credential lanyards and signage in and around the Democratic National Convention.

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Lockheed Martin responded to a Raw Story inquiry that included several detailed questions about the defense contractor’s participation in the 2024 convention.

Sort of.

A company spokesman, who declined to be named, first had questions for Raw Story: How many companies and special interest groups did Raw Story contact? Which ones? Did they respond?

In the end, Lockheed declined to answer most of Raw Story’s questions and emailed a statement: “We plan to attend both the Democratic and Republican conventions as part of our long-standing approach of non-partisan political engagement in support of our business interests.”

Raw Story persisted: “Are you able to offer any specifics on how you plan to support your business interests at the conventions? How much money does Lockheed Martin plan to spend between the two 2024 national party conventions?”

“We don’t have anything else to share,” the spokesman replied.

Chicago-based United Airlines — namesake of the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention is being conducted — said in a statement that the company “supported both the Milwaukee and Chicago Host committees” and increased the number of flights between Washington, D.C., and the two 2024 national convention cities.

Asked for additional details, United demurred: “We won’t have any further information to share.”

Similarly, a Google spokesperson, who declined to be named, noted that the company did not donate to either the Democratic or Republican convention committee, but helped “both the Republican and Democratic committees livestream their conventions on YouTube – like we have in previous elections.”

The Google spokesperson declined to comment on support Google did or did not offer state delegations, political committees and the like in conjunction with the Democratic or Republican national conventions.

A Walmart spokesperson said the company didn’t donate to either the Democratic or Republican convention funds but declined to comment further.

Some of the nation’s top lobbying forces were a bit more forthcoming.

“GM will sponsor the Democratic National Convention,” General Motors spokesperson Liz Winter confirmed. “We have supported both conventions for many years and aim to provide equivalent support to both the RNC and DNC. Through continuous bipartisan engagement with organizations like the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee, we have an opportunity to build an understanding of the issues important to our industry, our people and the communities we support.”

She added: “Our presence at the conventions does not represent an endorsement of a candidate.”

A few said they simply sat the 2024 national political conventions out.

Wells Fargo “did not contribute to either convention,” bank spokesman Robert Sumner said, adding, “no events, either.”

“We have not contributed for activities at the political conventions,” said Brian Dietz, spokesperson for trade group NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.

The National Federation of Independent Business has “not contributed any money / sponsorships or in-kind contributions to either the RNC or DNC conventions,” spokesperson Jon Thompson wrote in an email.

But the party never ends

When the Democratic National Convention ends Thursday night, and the final Democratic revelers stagger back to their downtown Chicago hotel rooms, there will have been hundreds of individual events and opportunities for wealthy special interests to leave their mark.

To take one: Invariant, a government relations and communications firm that lists Home Depot, H&R Block, Toyota, Marriott International and Cigna among its clients, hosted an “exclusive brat brunch” on Tuesday attended by “media personalities, influencers, administration honchos, Members of Congress, campaign staff diehards, and your friends at Invariant," according to an invitation shared with Raw Story.

Among those personally invited: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), per an invitation.

It’s unclear whether the congresswoman attended. But as Politico would report afterward, a roster of other federal lawmakers sure did, mingling with lobbyists and activists and lots of folks with political agendas.

Invariant did not return requests for comment. But based on a question it poses on its website to potential clients, the event appeared to accomplish the firm’s mission.

“There are only two questions when it comes to lobbying,” Invariant posits. “Do you want to find Washington, or do you want Washington to find you?”

Democrats compete with ultimate Trump billboard during national convention

CHICAGO — As the Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday, Republican nominee Donald Trump — not Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — arguably has the most permanent and grandiose billboard in town.

It’s not a traditional billboard suspended alongside the highway, although there are plenty of those surrounding the city with decidedly convention-focused messages.

Rather, it’s the massive letters spelling out TRUMP across the 98-story reflective skyscraper, Trump International Hotel and Tower.

Close-up of Trump sign at Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Chicago (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

Suspended over the Chicago River in the city’s downtown for the past 15 years, Trump Tower is the second tallest building in Chicago, and it can’t help but attract the attention of millions of visitors and locals who pass by.

Still, Trump’s permanent presence in Chicago hasn’t stopped both conservative and liberal organizations and media from trying to battle out their causes via traditional billboards.

Heading north on Interstate 55, drivers first encounter billboards welcoming visitors to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention about 45 miles outside of the city near the far southwest, historically blue collar suburb of Joliet, Ill.

Then begins a steady stream of conservative billboards ranging from a sign encouraging drivers to “Discover why Jesus created you” to a “Truth & Tradition” ad from The Epoch Times, a conservative newspaper organization, which is in the midst of a scandal involving charges of money laundering. (The same billboard can be seen near O’Hare International Airport, too.)

An ad from the conservative Epoch Times newspaper organization, advertising its website to motorists driving toward downtown Chicago from O’Hare International Airport. (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

As drivers approach the city itself, the Illinois Democrats’ presence becomes more pronounced with various billboards highlighting talking points such as: “Record job growth.” “Balancing budgets.” “Rebuilding roads, bridges & schools.” “Protect women’s rights.”

One of several billboards from Illinois Democrats that says "Protect Women's Rights." This particular billboard is sponsored by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's campaign committee. (Photo by Matt Laslo/Raw Story)

The Chicago host committee for the convention unveiled a new campaign, “The Future Is Built In Chicago,” featuring local leaders from nine Chicago neighborhoods.The billboards can be seen approaching the city, featuring ambassadors ranging from Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, a historian and popular TikTok creator, to Chris Harris Sr., a pastor of two prominent churches.

An ad featuring Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, a historian and popular TikTok creator, as part of the "The Future Is Built In Chicago,” campaign. (Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)

Throughout the city, cause-based ads were interspersed between official party ads, which included an uncredited “Support Our Troops sign, a “Protect and Serve” ad supporting fallen Chicago Police Department officers, a welcome to “Union Town USA” sign from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 and a message from pro-abortion rights organization, Women’s Declaration International USA, that said “Dear Democrats: only WOMEN need ABORTIONS.”

A billboard on Aug. 16, 2024, en route to downtown Chicago, sponsored by pro-abortion rights organization Women’s Declaration International USA. (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

Media organizations took to billboards as well to promote their convention coverage.

Nonprofit public affairs cable network, C-SPAN, advertised its “unfiltered view of the national convention” to travelers at O’Hare International Airport. Fox News advertised its “Democracy ‘24” coverage on a highway billboard.

An advertisement for C-SPAN’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention greets travelers at O’Hare International Airport on Aug. 16, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo by Dave Levinthal/Raw Story)

Another Fox News ad showed viewership graphs boasting the network in a distinct first place compared to competitors NBC, ABC and CBS with the slogan, “America is watching .. are you?

Fox News billboard Fox News channel ad with the slogan, "America is watching ... are you?" (Photo by Matt Laslo/Raw Story)

Billboard battles took place last month during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, as well.

Visitors to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport were greeted with billboards for the Heritage Foundation, the conservative group spearheading the controversial Project 2025 presidential transition” plan, and pro- and anti-Trump groups took to billboard campaigns with ads from the Republican National Committee to a political action committee backed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Does hosting your political convention in Chicago equal victory? History has an answer

As Democrats converge on Chicago in what appears to be an organized show of unity at their 2024 convention, it’s a far cry from what transpired 100 years ago in New York City.

There and then, the Democratic party fielded 16 presidential candidates and conducted 103 ballots votes for a nominee. Battles raged over whether the party should insert a platform plank condemning the KKK. A delegate allegedly quipped, “We’re either going to have to pick a candidate tonight or a cheaper hotel.”

The New Republic reported that the event that occurred just before the Democratic National Convention that year in Madison Square Garden was the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Attendees of the 1924 Democratic National Convention probably couldn’t tell the difference between their event and the ones with clowns and dancing bears.

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Even in our age of sanitized, made-for-TV national political conventions, where organizers do their best to promote unity and quell dissent, there’s always the possibility of flashpoints — internal or external — when thousands of delegates descend upon a city.

Countering Democrats’ exercise in comity this year is like to be a series of pro-Palestinian protests. Here, on the weekend before the convention begins, there’s no predicting whether these protests will be peaceful — or less than peaceful. Visions of Chicago in 1968, where anti-war protesters battled Chicago police in the streets, loom large.

But Chicago is no political convention rookie. In fact, Chicago has hosted 25 national political conventions over our nation’s history — 15 more than the next closest city, Baltimore.

In 14 of these 25 cases, Chicago’s winner has gone on to win the presidency — a 56 percent success rate.

On balance, Chicago has been kind to both parties. The GOP has hosted 14 national conventions in Chicago (with their presidential nominee winning eight) while Democrats opted to hold their party convention in Chicago 11 times (winning six).

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The second most popular site for a national political convention is Baltimore.

But all but one (1912) took place in the 1800s, when Baltimore was one of the largest cities in America. In 1831, the first political party convention occurred. It was in Baltimore, put on by the Anti-Masonic League, and nominated William Wirt. Whigs and Democrats soon followed suit later that year and in 1832. In 1860, when the Democratic Party fractured in Charleston, S.C., Northern Democrats fled to Baltimore to nominate Sen. Stephen Douglas.

Philadelphia is the site of the third most political conventions in American history — nine. A little more than half of these conventions led to success in November.

Surprisingly, New York City has only hosted six, with three producing a win. Holding fifth place for convention sites is St. Louis, with five (only two nominees at those events won). San Francisco has held four conventions, with a party winning only one of those. Kansas City has only led to victory as a national convention site in one of three elections.

Six cities have hosted at least one convention and never yielded a winner Atlanta, Boston, Charleston, Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tampa.

Houston, which has lost twice before, is slated to host the GOP convention in 2028.

The smallest city to host a convention, by population rank at the time of the census, is Atlantic City, N.J. (1964), followed by Tampa (2012), Minneapolis/St. Paul (2008), Cleveland (2016) and Miami Beach (1968, and 1972 twice).

Atlantic City (1964), Dallas (1984), Detroit (1980), and New Orleans (1988) have won their solo shot at a convention.

So has Milwaukee in 2020 for the Democrats, although that largely virtual convention was decidedly unconventional given the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll see what happens for the Republicans in 2024, as Milwaukee hosted their national convention last month.

Miami Beach, Cleveland, and Cincinnati have also fared well, with each being a successful site in two of three elections. Denver and Los Angeles have each won half of their convention host years.

Bottom line for bigger cities as convention sites?

During the last 12 elections, the convention that’s been conducted in the bigger city has won eight of them. Overall, in a head-to-head comparison, the bigger convention city has nominated an eventual presidential winner 21 times, while the smaller city has prevailed 15 times. (In six cases, both parties held their convention in the same city in the same year.)

This history bodes well for the Democrats, whose 2024 convention city (Chicago) is larger than the 2024 Republican host city (Milwaukee).

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For the record, the largest cities never to host a convention are Phoenix, followed by San Antonio, Texas; San Jose, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Indianapolis; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Worth, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.; and Seattle. (Jacksonville did play an odd and ill-fated role during the 2020 election, however.)

Numerous factors go into the success — or lack thereof — of a presidential candidate. But if they want a historical tailwind at their backs, Democrats and Republicans both may want to consider city size when making their choice for their convention site for 2028.

Given the track record for the larger city, perhaps Los Angeles, New York City or yet another return to Chicago might be the better option in four years, although that probably doesn’t mean a cheaper hotel room.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.

Texas sheriffs engage conspiracy theorist who created Trump enemies 'target list'

The self-styled “secretary of retribution” for Donald Trump, who created a “Deep State target list” a prominent congressman describes as a “vigilante death warrant for hundreds of Americans,” received an audience earlier this month with the very people he’s sought to attract: law enforcement officers.

Ivan Raiklin, a retired Army lieutenant colonel with designs on conducting “live-streamed swatting raids” against the more than 350 politicians, federal employees, journalists and others on the list, detailed his plans to about two dozen police officials gathered earlier this month for a sheriffs’ association conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

RELATED ARTICLE: Trump’s ‘secretary of retribution’ has a ‘target list’ of 350 people he wants arrested

Raiklin’s 20-minute presentation to the Texas law enforcement officials took place in a private meeting room on July 22 in a restaurant in Fort Worth, according to a video reviewed by Raw Story.

During his presentation, Raiklin laid out a legally dubious plan in which he suggested the law enforcement officials could investigate various high-ranking Democrats by reviewing their private communications on the social media platform X, and then correlating the geo-located data to their local counties.

In previous interviews on right-wing podcasts, Raiklin has suggested that the communications, were they to be disclosed, would provide digital evidence of crimes that would then justify law enforcement investigations and “swatting raids” — the latter term apparently referring to arrests.

Raw Story has confirmed that at least two county sheriffs were among the law enforcement personnel attending the event, which one sheriff said was hosted by an organization called Texans for Constitutional Sheriffs.

“We are pleading with you at the county level,” Raiklin told the group, adding that he plans to “use capabilities like some people have in this room to sift through all of their digital assets.”

With Trump now facing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, Raiklin predicted that the next six weeks in American politics would get “spicy,” and he presented a conspiratorial narrative about supposed ruthless “Deep State” agents willing to go to any lengths to maintain their hold on power.

“They may have already assassinated Joe Biden, for all we know,” Raiklin said during his talk, which took place one day after President Joe Biden announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race. (Contrary to speculation by right-wing conspiracy theorists, Biden is alive.)

“They are willing to go to any length to retain their power, and we have to go to the mat to make sure that we get our constitutional order back in place,” Raiklin continued. “And it requires everybody in this room and your colleagues at the county level — local action, national impact — to reset and body-check this lawlessness.”

The law enforcement personnel in the audience participated in Raiklin’s classroom-style presentation by engaging in a call-and-response session.

For example, Raiklin asked the sheriff officials to name a business mogul who had recently moved his company headquarters from California to Texas.

“Elon Musk,” one man responded.

Raiklin also called on them to name the local Texas counties where they worked.

Ivan Raiklin speaks to Texas law enforcement officials A screenshot of Ivan Raiklin giving a presentation to Texas sheriffs in a private meeting room at a restaurant, which took place during the Sheriffs' Association of Texas Annual Training Conference and Expo in Fort Worth in July. (Source: Ivan Raiklin video)

“We want to see all forms of communication between Twitter employees and their emails, and their internal Slack channels, and their Twitter direct messages inside the Twitter platform with the geo-tagged, geo-located metadata applied to everyone on the Deep State target list,” Raiklin said. “And then decide where a criminal interaction took place by jurisdiction. Anything that has Texas on it in county….”

Raiklin paused, and then called on one of the audience members.

“What county?” he asked a stocky man with piercing blue eyes.

That man, Sheriff Edward A. Miller, volunteered to Raiklin that he leads the sheriff’s office in Shackelford, a county with a population of 3,105 that is roughly 125 miles west of Fort Worth and not near any interstate highways.

With this tangible piece of information, Raiklin continued his hypothetical, asking the law enforcement officials to imagine that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) — a prominent, liberal congressman who previously expressed concern about Raiklin to Raw Story — was “driving through Shackelford County.”

Then, perhaps recognizing the remote likelihood of the hypothetical, Raiklin abruptly asked for another volunteer.

An unidentified man volunteered the name of McLennan County, located on Interstate 35 between Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Its county seat is the city of Waco.

Then, Raiklin moved on to a more plausible place where Raskin might travel.

“Who is near a major airport?” he asked. “Anyone?”

A woman attending Raiklin’s presentation volunteered the names of Tarrant and Dallas, the two counties across which Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport stretches.

Miller, the sheriff of Shackelford County, Texas, told Raw Story by phone that Raiklin’s presentation was put on by Texans for Constitutional Sheriffs. Sheriff Parnell McNamara of McLennan County told Raw Story that someone he didn't know invited him to the restaurant for a steak dinner while he was eating lunch at the Fort Worth Convention Center, where the Sheriff's Association of Texas Annual Training Conference and Expo was held from July 20 to July 23.

McNamara said he ate the steak, but didn't stay for the presentation. He told Raw Story he doesn't know Raiklin and hasn't communicated with him before or since.

After reviewing social media posts showing Raiklin mingling in the exhibition hall at the conference, Skylor Hearn, executive director of the Sheriffs' Association of Texas, confirmed that they show Raiklin wearing an "exhibitor" badge issued by the association.

Some of the posts depicting Raiklin at the sheriffs' conference show him seated in front of large placards for two different organizations — one that provides legal support to defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the other promoting the hand-counting of election ballots.

One post includes a photograph showing Raiklin speaking with Morris County, Texas, Sheriff Jack Martin. The caption indicates that Martin had been “informed to be prepared” to receive a tranche of private messages from X “and let his district attorney know it’s coming for Deep State Target List development.”

Martin did not return multiple messages from Raw Story seeking comment on Raiklin’s pitch. Nor did the sheriffs’ offices in Tarrant and Dallas counties, which were both referenced by one of the audience members during Raiklin’s presentation.

“We get a wide variety of vendors,” Hearn told Raw Story. “If someone is willing to stop and listen to them, they can talk about their widgets or their worldview.”

McNamara, the sheriff in McLennan County, said he was similarly enticed when he received the invitation to Raiklin's presentation at the restaurant.

"Different vendors are wanting you to come and wanting to buy you dinner, and I thought that's what this was about," he said.

The sheriffs' conference included official trainings that allow participants to earn credits through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, but Hearn said Raiklin’s presentation to the sheriffs at the restaurant “was definitely not part of our programming.”

Raiklin, who attended the sheriffs conference only three days after appearing at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as a credentialed guest, did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

When Raw Story approached Raiklin last month at the Republican National Convention, Raiklin refused to answer various questions, including those about his "target list" and plan to work with largely rural, conservative county sheriffs to deputize some 75,000 military veterans to arrest people on his list.

The video of Raiklin's presentation shows a man who appears to be Kirk Launius, founder and director of Texans for Constitutional Sheriffs, assisting Raiklin by selecting a slide for his audio-visual presentation.

Launius' LinkedIn profile describes him as a Dallas-based "global internet entrepreneur, mobile business coach, social media strategist and philanthropist" who was previously employed as a Dallas police officer. Launius ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Dallas County in 2012 and 2016.

Launius could not be reached for comment for this story.

‘America will respond in kind’

Since the beginning of the year, Raiklin has zealously promoted his plan to enlist sheriffs to detain federal employees and others who have run afoul of Trump and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser.

On podcasts and social media, Raiklin often presents a bill of particulars against individuals on his “target list” based on a dubious legal framework and dubious claims, such as suggesting without evidence that the unidentified person responsible for setting pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee on Jan. 6, 2021, was “a subordinate-surrogate of the Capitol Police Board,” which oversees the Capitol Police.

Raiklin’s claims carry an undercurrent of violence: He accuses perceived Trump enemies of treason, and his social media followers sometimes make the logical leap that people on Raiklin’s “target list” should face the punishment of death.

Raiklin has forged a close relationship with Flynn, who was his former boss at the Defense Intelligence Agency, a federal entity where Raiklin worked during the past decade. Following an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2018, Raiklin became an avid Trump supporter, and worked in tandem with Flynn to overturn the 2020 election.

Over the course of this year, Raiklin has appeared at events to promote a laudatory documentary film about Flynn.

Prior to each screening, Raiklin typically presents a museum-style “evidence wall” arguing that many of the individuals on his “Deep State target list” conspired in a plot to persecute Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. But the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its case against Flynn in May 2020, and later that year, then-President Trump issued Flynn a pardon.

Raiklin’s rhetoric over the past two months has escalated to the point where he has directly called for violence.

In one X post, Raiklin mocked former national security adviser Alexander Vindman, suggesting that he would “speak to him in person” and asking for his “preferred punishment for committing treason.” Raiklin supporters on X responded by suggesting variations on hanging or execution by firing squad.

Since the attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, Raiklin has claimed without evidence that members of the so-called “Deep State” are involved in a plot to assassinate the former president and current 2024 Republican nominee for president.

In an X post on July 22, Raiklin decreed that “all leading contenders” to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee — Vice President Kamala Harris ostensibly included — “are to be treated as the ones behind ordering the assassination of President Trump.” He further warned that “America will respond in kind unless they turn themselves in.”

Lira Gallagher, a spokesperson for the FBI Washington Field Office, declined to comment on whether Raiklin is on the agency’s radar.

During his presentation to the Texas sheriffs, Raiklin singled out Raskin, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, for scrutiny.

MOTHER OF ALL TWITTER FILES IMMINENT?! Sep 3, by @IvanRaiklin https://t.co/stzrPsADgi

To: @KenPaxtonTX @elonmusk @SpeakerJohnson @Jim_Jordan @RepJamesComer @RepLoudermilk pic.twitter.com/ir1oh7iHZ5
— Ivan Raiklin (@IvanRaiklin) July 23, 2024

Raskin has previously described Raiklin’s list as a “vigilante death warrant for hundreds of Americans, and a clear and present danger to the survival of American democracy and freedom.” Raskin called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to repudiate threats of political violence.

Since then, Raiklin has appeared to taunt Raskin by posting a photo of himself clasping hands with Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) at the Republican National Convention. Higgins has falsely claimed that a “ghost bus… filled with FBI informants dressed as Trump supporters” descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6."

“What do you think we discussed, @RepRaskin?” Raiklin wrote. “Maybe @SpeakerJohnson can tell you.”

Then, on the same day he spoke to the Texas sheriffs, Raiklin accused Raskin of being “involved in the assassination attempt” against Trump, while acknowledging that he has no evidence to back his claim.

Miller, the sheriff of Shackelford County, said he came away confused about what Raiklin was asking him to do.

“I don’t know where you would come up with a crime if they’re 30,000 feet in the air,” Miller told Raw Story. “It seems like that would be more likely to be investigated as a federal conspiracy.”

Miller said he expected Raiklin’s talk to provide sheriffs with insight on how they can follow the Constitution, but that wasn’t what they heard.

“My opinion is that the presentation that should have been given is, ‘This is the United States Constitution. We believe that the sheriff and the county should follow the Constitution as it relates to the inalienable rights of the citizens,’” Miller said. “That wasn’t the presentation that was given. It was a presentation on politics.”

When Raiklin asked whom in the audience might be “near a major airport,” he zeroed in on the biggest political target of all — Harris — the candidate who is all but certain to go up against Donald Trump in the presidential election.

An unidentified woman in the audience volunteered that Tarrant and Dallas counties in Texas encompass Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

“Imagine they flew through there as they’re waiting,” Raiklin said. “They communicate.”

He went on to specifically name Harris, while suggesting that the law enforcement officers could investigate her “comms team” based on private emails that they might have exchanged while waiting for a connecting flight.

Raiklin’s motivations — and a pitch to law enforcement

During his presentation in Fort Worth, Raiklin suggested his motivation for attempting to exact retribution on federal government employees was being placed under surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security following Jan. 6, 2021, when he was spotted on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

In the runup to Jan. 6, Raiklin had promoted a plan called “Operation Pence Card,” which called for then-Vice President Mike Pence to set aside electoral votes in states narrowly won by Biden, which would have effectively flipped the election in Trump’s favor.

“And in the case of my situation — top Secret clearance, reserve lieutenant colonel — cleared TSA pre-check,” Raiklin said, apparently referring to a pat down. “But when I go to travel — not anymore — for 21 months, they subjected me to that Fourth Amendment gang rape, as I reported that procedure, okay? Is that cool?”

To establish his qualifications, Raiklin told the group assembled for his presentation that he finished his military career teaching “intelligence analysis at the nation’s premier intelligence analytic program in the U.S. intel community at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

“I’m not the smartest guy in the room, but I may know what I’m talking about when it comes to conducting structured analytic techniques, link analysis, timeline, chronology — all taking that capability and applying it to something isn’t right in America,” he added.

Raiklin’s plan depends on cooperation from a series of powerful actors, as he explained to the law enforcement officers present for his presentation.

He told them he wants to see three Republican congressmen who chair House committees — Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky, and Barry Loudermilk of Georgia — or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoena X owner Elon Musk for the private direct messages of the 350-some individuals on his “Deep State target list.”

A spokesperson for Loudermilk did not respond to a request for comment on the record, and emails to Jordan, Comer and Paxton similarly went unreturned.

Prior to speaking with sheriffs in Fort Worth last week, Raiklin had attempted to cultivate relationships with sheriffs through the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which espouses the controversial belief that sheriffs are the highest law in the land and are not legally required to uphold state and federal laws they deem to be unconstitutional.

But even Richard Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, eventually concluded that Raiklin’s plan was flawed, telling Raw Story “it reeks of lawsuits, and it doesn’t follow due process.”

‘Winning’: Republican lawyers justify lawbreaking stars of ‘law and order’ GOP convention

MILWAUKEE — Donald Trump and a fraternity of fellow felons played starring roles at this week’s Republican National Convention.

There was former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, fresh out of federal prison, delivering a prime-time speech.

There was former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, prowling the Fiserv Forum convention floor with official credentials.

More than a dozen Republican convention delegates are indicted “fake electors” charged with attempting to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

And even Kid Rock — who performed a pro-Trump anthem minutes before the former president delivered his lengthy nomination acceptance speech Thursday — has been charged with several crimes over the years stemming from physical altercations.

Republicans, who used the convention to fashion themselves the party of law and order and rule of law, largely dismissed their GOP brethren’s legal troubles as witch hunts, abuse of federal power and the Democrat-driven product of conservatives’ new favorite term — “lawfare.”

But unlike most unelected delegates at the Republican National Convention, some veteran Republican lawyers admitted to Raw Story that Trump and his top advisors actually stepped over the legal line.

“I mean, when you don’t reply to a subpoena, you don’t reply to a subpoena,” former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) — who has a law degree from Penn State Dickinson Law — told Raw Story on the convention floor Thursday.

Other Republican lawyers turned lawmakers are surprised the Supreme Court recently granted Trump — along with other presidents — sweeping immunity from being prosecuted for anything they claim as an ‘official duty, such as commanding Department of Justice officials to overturn the will of the American people.

“He’s the luckiest man I've ever met,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) told Raw Story as he was entering the convention Thursday. “And he was very lucky on Saturday. Thank God.”

Before coming to Congress, McCaul served as both deputy attorney general of Texas and a federal prosecutor with the Department of Justice. He’s still mystified by some recent rulings, including Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision — which is being appealed — that Special Counsel Jack Smith is illegitimate.

“I didn't see some of these recent legal wins coming,” McCaul said. “I'm a federal prosecutor, I was worried about some of these [cases].”

ALSO READ: Associated Press issues warning about iconic Trump assassination attempt photo

Smith is prosecuting Trump for retaining boxes and boxes of sensitive classified documents after leaving the White House

“Do you think a president should still take classified documents with him?” Raw Story asked former Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-TN).

“No. I don't think he should,” Duncan, who previously served as a criminal court judge, said.

‘Yeah?” Raw Story pressed. “But not illegal?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Duncan — who recently argued in an op-ed that roughly 90% of classified documents are ‘too much’ — told Raw Story. “Technology moves so fast, I can tell you any files that Trump had for three and a half years, it's out of date. So I think it's a bunch of hullabaloo over nothing.”

EXCLUSIVE: Trump ‘secretary of retribution’ won't discuss his ‘target list’ at RNC

Indeed, the Republican lawyers Raw Story talked to at the GOP convention wouldn’t have necessarily prosecuted Trump and his former team — including Navarro, Steve Bannon and Roger Stone — had it been up to them. But they indicated the various cases are far from baseless.

They’re outliers in an arena that gave recently released convict Navarro a standing ovation Wednesday evening..

“Donald Trump's gonna be our next president. Joe Biden's gonna be out of the White House. Peter Navarro's outta jail,” Connecticut delegate Jeff Santopietro told Raw Story after having Navarro sign a copy of his book Thursday. “Listen, first of all, I'm buying it to support him, but I understand it's a good read. And I think that he deserves to get a break in life, because Joe Biden and the government really screwed the guy.”

“Lawfare” may feel like new rhetoric on the right, but it’s become a deeply held conviction to many Republicans.

“It smells like there's two sets of rules and there's not in the world,” Santopietro said. “There's a set of rules for the Bidens and there set of rules for everybody else. If you have an ‘R’ behind the end of your name, or you’re associated with Donald Trump, you end up getting federal officers after you.”

“What’d you make of the New York case against Trump?” Raw Story asked, referring to the case that led to Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, stemming from Trump’s hush money payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 president election. Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for September.

“It’s bulls–t,” Santopietro said. “In plain English it was all bulls–t. Matter of fact … that’s a persecution. That wasn't a legal case at all.”

“They should throw that whole case out and say they're sorry and move on. Cause when he's in the White House, January 21st,” Santopietro started before stopping himself. “There’s no payback. But you know what? They deserve everything they get.”

New York Republicans agree.

“Shame on us for basically having a prior president of the United States from your home state, you disown him the day he becomes president, not the day he no longer is president, from your own home state. Who does that? Foolishness,” Tommy — who declined to offer his last name — told Raw Story through his thick Brooklyn accent. “You disown the guy the day he has the authority to make your lives better in your home state out of the other 50 states? Something's not mentally right.”

Republican lawyers see the line Trump and his advisers crossed, but that doesn’t mean they disagree with the party’s unelected base.

“The problem is, [former Obama administration Attorney General] Eric Holder didn’t reply to a subpoena and he’s walking around a free man. He was never prosecuted. Again, it’s the old double standard,” Santorum said. “I think Americans are hopefully getting tired of it and they’d like to have both parties play by the same rules.”

“What do you make of these court cases coming down in Trump's favor?” Raw Story asked.

“The Democrats found a bunch of spurious claims against him. I mean the New York case, he’ll win that on appeal, because it was a bogus charge,” Santorum said. “They have frivolous charges. This is lawfare…they don’t care about winning, they care about damaging politically.”

When asked about the substance of the cases against Trump and his team, McCaul demurred.

“For this crowd, it just validates what they've been thinking, ‘It's all rigged,’” McCaul told Raw Story.

“But what about your crowd of legal scholars?” Raw Story pressed.

“Hey man,” McCaul said. “I know he's winning.”

'What Donald did they see?' Mary Trump slams media for downplaying 'grotesque' RNC event

Former President Donald Trump's niece assailed him and the media's apparent acceptance of a new-and-improved rebrand at the Republican National Convention, which she called a "grotesque spectacle."

Mary Trump wrote Friday in her newsletter, "The Good In Us" that her uncle, the man accused of inciting a violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, did so because he "couldn’t handle losing an election does not actually give a damn about unity."

"Donald Trump is no more capable of unifying this country than he was of being presidential. And yet, far too many people in the corporate media keep waiting for it to happen. Indeed, they cynically keep assuring us it’s going to happen," she wrote.

A flabbergasted Ms. Trump railed against news organizations that bought Trump's post-assassination re-brand after Trump called for "unity."

"Why? Why do they ignore his words, his threats, and his record in order to present him as a man who simply does not exist: a man who is reasonable and measured, humbled and godly?" she asked.

Mary Trump blasted headlines and The Boston Globe and The Dallas Morning News, which read “In departure, Trump calls for unity, healing in America" and "Trump emphasizes unity," respectively.

"Even after the grotesque spectacle of WWE and UFA domestic abusers, racists, and misogynists; even after that rambling, self-aggrandizing, delusional speech; newspapers this morning portrayed Donald as if he were a new person, the kind of guy who wants to bury hatchets and do what’s best for all Americans," she wrote.

Ms. Trump later added: "What convention were they watching? What Donald did they see? And how do they all manage to forget that this convicted felon, adjudicated fraud and rapist, is still out on bail in three jurisdictions."

She called her uncle "cruel" and insisted he remains the same man she has always known: The one who incited an insurrection, rigged the Supreme Court, is an adjudicated rapist and "sold out our country to his fellow authoritarians."

But not if you read the headlines, she said.

"The corporate media would have us forget all of this, just as they would have us forget the reason Donald needed to pick a new running mate or that he was preceded onstage by a man who uses the n-word and introduced by another who hits his wife," she said. "And we’re supposed to trust this media to steer us through the increasingly dangerous waters of this election? Seriously?"

Ex-GOP strategist reveals Republicans' glaring 'weakness' following Trump's 'coronation'

A former GOP strategist rebuked the anything-but-normal Republican National Convention on Friday and revealed what he felt emerged as the party's greatest "weakness" — J.D. Vance.

Rick Wilson, a Republican media strategist, took to The Lincoln Project podcast to remark upon what he called the "coronation" of former President Donald Trump. He launched into his podcast blasting the normalization of the MAGA gathering.

"This idea that this was a normal Republican convention could have been dismissed at the very first milliseconds of it," he said. "This was the most bizarre transitional moment in American politics. And I don't think people have fully appreciated it yet."

Wilson then plays a clip of bulging-eyed fake wrestler Hulk Hogan ripping off his shirt at the convention to reveal a MAGA-red "Trump-Vance" cut-off.

From the first second, Wilson remarks it was a "coronation of Trump" — not a celebration of the party or platform.

"This was about the adoration and adulation of Donald Trump. It had a tent revival feel to it from the very beginning."

Wilson called it a "strangely, almost religious aspect" to the convention, partly because of the assassination attempt days earlier.

"You can see how they believe in this guy, how they treat and think about him. He is a God figure. He is their St. Bartholomew stripped from his flesh."

After Wilson called ear-bandage-wearing MAGA supporters the strangest small symbol of the week and likened Trump to a cult leader, he pointed out that the post-rationalist moment has started to show some cracks.

"I am fascinated more by the weakness of the GOP convention more than by its strength," he said.

The one strength the GOP showed, he jabbed: the party that often shares anti-LGBT policies and rhetoric managed to shut down Grindr in the Milwaukee area.

Then he revealed what he says became the party's greatest "weakness."

"I think one of the biggest exposures of a weakness in this convention is J.D. Vance," he said. "J.D. Vance is an OG never-Trumper. He loathes him. He despises him. He hates him. All these things for years and years and years."

Vance's political opportunity, argues Wilson, became dependent on becoming a passionate forever-Trumper.

"This is a classic example of the power of evil to corrupt weak people," he said, noting that upon closer examination, Vance (R-OH) is "kind of a weak guy."

"He is not a strong person," Wilson rails. "He's manipulated by his own ambition, by his own insecurities. And the funny thing about this was, a lot of people inside Trump's own orbit did not want J.D. Vance."

Those people, said Wilson, didn't trust Vance.

"J.D. was one of the original never-Trump pillars of our community against Donald. He was one of the original fighters against Donald. He made an articulate passionate set of cases against Donald," he said.

As such, the Lincoln Project tried to disrupt the MAGA campaign using Vance's own words criticizing Trump overlayed with footage of Trump reading a poem called "The Snake." To boot, one of the cracks in the choice is that Silicon Valley had to pony up millions to secure Vance, he said.

"Elon Musk had to buy J.D. Vance for Donald Trump," said Wilson. "That $50 million a month — he's buying J.D. Vance for Donald Trump."

Vance, he added, is part of the tech movement for a "dark enlightenment" and his pro-Putin rhetoric has turned off many on the right who continue to believe Russia is a key threat.

Watch the clip below or at this link here.

Republican hit with $2.9K taxi fare after tech outage leaves him stranded at RNC

MILWAUKEE — Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) is about to take the ride of his life.

Well, at $2,900, it will at least be the most expensive taxi ride of his life.

In the wake of this week’s Republican National Convention, Fleischmann and his wife found themselves stranded in Milwaukee Friday, ensnared in the CrowdStrike outage that’s grounded more than 2,000 flights nationwide.

After Delta Air Lines canceled the flight they were scheduled to take home to Tennessee, Fleischmann was told he couldn't rebook for today — or even in the coming days.

“It is no more,” Fleischmann told Raw Story at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. “It disappeared.”

Like others stranded here in Wisconsin, the congressman couldn’t get a rental car as thousands of Republican National Convention attendees scrambled to depart.

“They’re all booked,” he said, tieless and wearing a blue sports coat with his shiny congressional pin gleaming on his lapel as he sat in the airport food court.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump ‘secretary of retribution’ won't discuss his ‘target list’ at RNC

All Fleischmann could find is a taxi willing to drive them for $2,900.

With no other option, the fiscal conservative is resigned to an overnight cab ride back to Chattanooga, TN.

“Wow,” Raw Story responded. “And the cabby has to then drive back alone?”

“Yeah,” Fleischmann said. “But they’re making out all right.”

'Eughhh!' Disgust as Don. Jr asks teen daughter if he can 'look sexy like you'

Donald Trump's namesake son gave the internet the ick in a TikTok video in which he asked his 17-year-old daughter if makeup can make him look "sexy like you."

The video, posted Thursday to Donald Trump Jr.'s 1.1 million followers ahead of the last night of the Republican National Convention, earned five times that many views.

"Kai, what do you think? Getting makeup make me look sexy like you?" asks Trump Jr. as he shifts the camera from him to his teen daughter.

"I think you look very beautiful," Kai responds.

"Thank you Kai, Im glad you think I look very beautiful," he says.

Trump Jr. added: "I don't do this often, but in HD, you better do it."

Commenters on TikTok and X erupted in unison: "What?!"

"Brother eughhh," wrote Lhy in the comment section.

"Wait…what did he just say?" asked Killingbird13.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT" commented vancehendryx, adding three sobbing emojis.

"Idk that’s sounds kinda sus," wrote braydenhoward28.

X, formerly Twitter, was even more aghast, as Trump Jr.'s remarks reminded the internet of his father's comments toward Trump Jr.'s sister Ivanka.

In 2006, Trump was asked how he'd feel if his daughter posed for Playboy. His response: “Ivanka posing for Playboy would be really disappointing… not really. But it would depend on what was inside the magazine … I don’t think Ivanka would [do a nude shoot] inside the magazine. Although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said that if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

"OMG. Donald Trump Jr. just called his daughter sexy," wrote Democratic strategist Chris D. Jackson on X. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"

"They’re so inappropriate across the board," wrote @BonneHellcat. Who says these things to their daughters?"

"Like father, like son!" chimed in @NikkiK9.

"Donald Trump Jr backstage at the RNC Convention with his daughter Kai.He's a sicko just like his father. Who says this to their 17 year old daughter...that they look sexy? FFS," wrote @scottgumbleton.

Watch the clip below or at this link.

@donaldjtrumpjr Kai Trump coming up at the RNC - let’s go!
♬ original sound - donaldjtrumpjr

Milwaukee girded for massive convention protests. But they got something else.

MILWAUKEE — It was Tuesday evening, and roughly a dozen men dressed in matching orange T-shirts labeled “staff demonstration event safety” sat around a folding table at Haymarket Square.

Here in this free speech zone outside the Republican National Convention’s well-patrolled security perimeter stood a stage, podium, microphone and amplification system ready for someone to make a speech.

But as buses idled to ferry VIP guests to their hotels, no protesters were in sight. The scene? Calm.

ALSO READ: For sale: How much influence does $50,000 buy you at the Republican convention?

James Hayes, one of the event safety workers at Haymarket Square said he and his colleagues were there “to be extra eyes and ears for the protests — if there were any — and to coordinate with the police” but hadn’t “had much” in the way of protests.

The potential for mass protests and extremist violence at the Republican National Convention loomed as an unpredictable element in a tense election year that took a most dangerous turn with the attempted assassination of Republican nominee Donald Trump the previous weekend.

And while there was plenty of mostly peaceful protest actions in other areas surrounding the convention, the two city-designated “official speaker’s platforms” were virtual ghost towns throughout the week.

The other location, Ziegler Union Square, was tucked behind the Courtyard by Marriott — easily ignored by conventioneers, with the possible exception of the North Carolina delegation, whose marked golf carts were staged in the parking garage.

Similar to their counterparts in designated free speech area on the north end of the convention area, the event safety workers at Ziegler Union Square ambled around the park, sat at benches or stood around on Tuesday.

A man sang “Amazing Grace” through a megaphone, and then switched to preaching as he passed the park and continued down the street. A wooden podium and microphone set up in a pavilion remained dormant.

On Thursday, the final day of the convention, at 2 p.m., Hayes reported that the tempo at Haymarket Square had not picked up in the least.

“At this site, no one’s showed up today,” he said.

Likewise, at Ziegler Union Square on Thursday afternoon, a half dozen security staff lined the perimeter as a young woman sat on a bench listening to music on headphones. The pavilion yet again remained vacant.

Concern, contractors, preparation

Jeff Fleming, director of communications for the Milwaukee Mayor’s Office, said the contractors were hired through the city’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety.

“We opted to have the staff of people most involved in violence prevention activities, just because they’re familiar with tense situations and they’re well equipped to deal with them,” Fleming told Raw Story. “Their skills were not needed.”

Fleming said he would try to find out how much the city spent on the event safety team, but was not able to provide the information prior to publication.

The city committed to provide space for demonstrators and a parade route as part of its contract with the Republican National Convention, Fleming said.

The city allotted speaking time slots at the two demonstration locations from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the four days of the convention in advance to applicants. Fleming said the city received 140 applications, but on Thursday, he estimated that only 15 percent of the applicants had used their assigned timeslots.

While describing Haymarket Square as a “premier site” with sightlines to the “front doors” of the Fiserv Forum, where the Republican’s convention took place, Fleming acknowledged that protesters had other, more appealing options.

“Frankly, people can stand on the street corner and state their opinions loudly and proudly,” he said.

Protesters were free to go anywhere outside of the pedestrian restricted perimeter, unless they had official convention credentials, which almost none — if any — did.

That afforded them the ability to protest directly outside a Secret Service checkpoint one block from the arena. Others made their voices heard throughout the week across the Milwaukee River on Water Street, where they could interact with delegates coming and going from their hotels and various restaurants and entertainment venues.

Some of those who signed up for speaking slots, Fleming said, “may have arrived anticipating there would be a crowd waiting for them to speak, and there was not any crowd waiting for them, so they left.”

Having their say

While the city’s designated demonstration areas largely went unused, that doesn’t mean protesters sat the convention out entirely.

About 3,000 people led by a local coalition of left-wing groups that highlighted support for Palestine, reproductive rights and immigrants’ concerns brought a spirited march from Red Arrow Park to the Secret Service checkpoint outside of the Fiserv Forum on Monday.

The following evening, a smaller group of people protested the police killing of a homeless veteran one mile west of the convention by visiting officers from the Columbus Police Department.

Heather Ryan and her daughter, Heaven — who have been protesting Republican nominating conventions together since 1996, when Heaven was 6-months-old — showed at Red Arrow Park around 1 p.m. Thursday, after traveling from Des Moines, Iowa.

Dressed in matching black T-shirts that said “B—--- get stuff done,” the mother and daughter pulled out bullhorns and chanted, “2-4-6-8, Donald Trump get away.”

Before long, they attracted a gaggle of right-wing counter-protesters, live-streamers and photojournalists.

Heather Ryan, a liberal activist from Iowa, and Andre Williams, co-leader of the fascist group New Frontier, face off. (Jordan Green / Raw Story)

Andre Williams, one of the leaders of the fledgling fascist group New Frontier, approached the Ryans with his own bullhorn, while holding a Donald Trump fan. (Williams’ and the other leader of the group met for the first time in person in Milwaukee on Tuesday, according to their Telegram channel.)

“Your guy’s a racist,” Heather Ryan told Williams.

Williams countered by body shaming her.

“Where’s Weight Watchers when you need it?” he said. “Oh my gosh!”

Williams had a pistol strapped to his hip, which is legal in Wisconsin.

He first challenged Ryan for calling him a fascist, but then conceded, “Okay, I’m a fascist. What are you going to do about it?”

New Frontier’s Telegram channel celebrates Corneliu Codreanu, founder of the Romanian fascist group Iron Guard, and Carl Schmitt, who was considered the preeminent jurist of the Nazi Party in World War II Germany. The group excludes Jews, and although one of its leaders, Williams, is Black, the group took pains in a recent Telegram post to clarify that it “is not and will never be an anti-white organization.”

“God blessed Donald Trump. Christ is king,” Williams told Ryan. “Maybe you should go read the Bible. Go to church.”

A woman wearing a crucifix filmed the exchange with her cell phone, and then moved closer. Heather Ryan rebuffed the woman’s attempt to engage in a debate. The woman responded through her own bullhorn: “You’re over the decibel limit. I’m going to call the police.”

About 20 feet away, four members of the city’s event safety team eyed the confrontation, but didn’t intervene. Eventually, the argument subsided and the contesting parties drifted apart.

Last year, ahead of a Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, Heather Ryan had been flagged by a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as a “person of concern.” The trigger was a social media post when she was removed from the Iowa State Fair by state troopers last year. Heather Ryan and her niece were thrown out for blowing a whistle during Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conversation with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The Ryans said they felt compelled to travel to Milwaukee to protest the convention because they believe a second Trump term augurs the arrival of fascism in the United States.

“There’s a sense of helplessness when you’re going up against this gigantic beast that’s taking away rights,” Heather Ryan told Raw Story.

“I refuse to go quietly into the night,” Heaven Ryan added.

“It’s Project 2025,” Heather said when asked fascism would look like. “It’s my kids carrying period passports to prove they’re not pregnant. It looks like firing civil servants and replacing them with Trump loyalists. It’s overwhelming, and I’m sure that’s by design.”

Fleming said that while it appears the city of Milwaukee over-prepared for the protests at the Republican National Convention, he would be reluctant to impart any lessons to other cities that host party conventions in the future.

Least of all, Chicago, which hosts the Democratic National Convention next month.

“I don’t want to assume that Chicago will face the same kind of predicament of having staff ready to go and not as many people showing up,” he said. “It’s possible they have better organized activist groups…. They might see more protests.”