MSP assisting with security at RNC Convention

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State Police troopers have been sent to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a seven-day deployment to assist with security at the Republican National Convention.

Following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania, law enforcement agencies assigned to the convention are on high alert. The last time there was an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate was in 1981.

“I think we all need to remain vigilant, and it’s a really good time to evaluate what we’d do if we saw something that looks suspicious or needed some action taken to prevent a mass attack,” Lt. Kim Vetter said.

Vetter said that everyone is responsible for keeping each other safe and encourages people to speak up if they see something.

“We’d like to remind people that if they see something, say something. Stop the plot. A lot of times when incidents like this happen, a person who is a suspect has shown some signs that they were a risk to the community, so we encourage people to call and report those incidents,” she said.

For the convention, MSP is working alongside the Milwaukee Police Department, the United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies to provide crowd management and site security. Vetter said the agencies are monitoring what happened in Pennsylvania and are confident in the security plans that are in place.

“Our troopers are highly prepared and ready to respond to any public safety event alongside our partners. And we just hope and pray that it’s a safe event and everybody can make it home safely,” she said.

MSP previously assisted at the RNC Convention in 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.

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