In preparation for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week — which starts on Monday and ends on Thursday — extra security measures are being put into place to protect big-name attendees from protestors and potential attacks from political opposers.
According to a recent report from Axios, congressional security officials have been advising House Democrats to be extra careful when making their travel plans for the convention, going so far as to urge them to book their lodging under different names as "hotels have been getting random calls asking for people," and to avoid certain areas where violent encounters may be more likely to occur.
"The protesters aren't staying in a designated protest site . . . and there are people who are going to go and really try to cause trouble," one lawmaker quoted by the outlet predicted.
Aside from anticipated rabble-rousing from Trump supporters, the primary concern is the potential for violence from tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators traveling to the area to protest U.S. funding for Israel's war in Gaza.
In a welcome packet sent to congressional Democratic attendees, convention officials highlight that the Secret Service "has been coordinating with all levels of law enforcement agencies," including the Capitol Police and the Chicago Police Department.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will both deliver speeches at the DNC and a number of celebrity guests are expected to pop up. Julia Louis-Dreyfus hinted that a "Veep" moment is something that we can keep an eye out for, and some are even crossing their fingers that Taylor Swift will show up to back Harris. TBD on that one.
