Rules previously put in place by the city of Cleveland would have left pro and anti-Trump groups sharing protest space, but a likely settlement to be reached will allow groups to have their own space to protest.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Cleveland due to grievances over a restrictive 3.3 square mile security zone and a parade route that was potentially out of the sight and sound of delegates it would be meant to protest. The group Citizens for Trump, who was involved in the lawusit with the ACLU, was particularly worried about their safety due to potentially bottlenecking with anti-Trump groups.
On Thursday, the judge presiding over the suit sided with the ACLU and agreed that that the event zone and parade route infringed on the rights of protesters. Another judge on Friday announced that a settlement between the groups and the city of Cleveland would be reached “expeditiously.”(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Documents Reveal RNC Convention Protesters Are Set Up For Confrontation)
Tim Selaty, organizer of Citizens for Trump, spoke to The Daily Caller about this settlement.
“Because we got the security perimeter reduced to one and a half miles, that opened up a plethora of parks to be available. So because they no longer fall in the security perimeter zone, it’s a lot better for us,” Timothy Selaty said. Originally, Citizens for Trump would have not been able to get a permit to protest in a park and would thus not be able to have protection for their event.
A protester jumps on a police car while demonstrating outside a rally for Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in Fresno, California, U.S. May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Noah Berger
Protesters yell as police officers form a skirmish line outside a rally for Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in Fresno, California, U.S. May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Noah Berger
When asked if there was still a concern about violence at their rally, Selaty said, “Our rally? No because we’ll have a private permit and we’ll be able to police it. In other words, we don’t have to let anybody in that we don’t want to.”
Selaty and his group are currently attempting to have requests in the settlement reached in order to protect themselves. “If we’re going to use the new route, or use this route that everybody has to use, we want a 30-minute buffer at the end. In other words nobody can come in there and start assembling their march until we’re out for 30 minutes,” Selaty said to TheDC.
There are still issues for the group when it comes to the parade because it will end at what Salety considers a “convergent point.”
“They may show up to stand on the sidelines to protest us marching up the street. I don’t know that. I don’t know. The city hasn’t reassured me that they’re going to have enough police there to make sure our people, when they march, are safe,” Selaty told TheDC.
Citizens for Trump is hoping to host a Trump unity event at Settler’s Landing Park on July 18. They hope to have Diamond and Silk and Roger Stone as speakers and plan to have between 2,500 and 5,000 attendees.