Bay Area politicians are suiting up and flying out for the Republican National Convention this upcoming Monday in Cleveland, Ohio, having either resigned themselves to the possibility of a Trump presidency or having been rooting for it all along.
Hilary Hagenbuch, the president of the San Francisco Young Republicans, is heading to the convention as an alternate delegate.
“This election, this candidate…what we have seen in the past several months makes it a little bit more exciting,” she said.
She has expressed worry about security – a necessary force at Trump events, in which many protesters who feel his comments have been racist, unpresidential and sexist are bound to show up outside the convention center.
In fact, 123 permits were already granted for demonstrators inside the event zone. Although most of the protests have been peaceful, the heated interactions between Trump supporters and those who stand against him have escalated into physical altercations several times, including in the Bay Area when Trump spoke in San Jose.
Additionally, shootings in Dallas and the terror attack in France have put security for large-scale events on high alert.
“I think that’s inviting a lot of unnecessary hostility, animosity and chaos,” Hagenbuch said, regarding allowing protesters to enter the venue. "Security risk is definitely on my mind whether its domestic protestors with different organizations or someone from ISIS...but I'm confident in the police department and confident in the secret service."
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Police, however, have cautioned that they have been changing and enhancing their plans and feel that security will be locked down.