For decades, every Democrat and Republican political convention has been declared a “national special security event” by the Department of Homeland Security. That designation puts the Secret Service in charge of coordinating safety planning with the FBI, FEMA, police in Chicago and other federal and state and local agencies.
Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling said in March that Chicago police “will protect all those exercising their first amendment rights” in and around the convention. “What we will not tolerate is criminal activity,” he added. “Violence, vandalism will not be tolerated.”
