SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The Secret Service has said there will not be any changes to its Republican National Convention security plan in Milwaukee, Wis., this week. The event is designated a National Special Security Event. That's the highest available to the federal government. Here's Aubrey Gibson-Cicchino, the RNC coordinator for the U.S. Secret Service, who spoke at a press conference alongside the FBI, the Milwaukee police chief and Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
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AUBREY GIBSON-CICCHINO: So we are confident in these security plans that are in place for this event, and we're ready to go. It's been an 18-month process. It's the - we've worked together over that 18 months to develop operational security plans for any and all aspects of security related to this event.
PFEIFFER: Meanwhile, former President Trump says he will not let an attempt on his life interfere with his plans to address the RNC on Thursday. That's when he becomes the official party nominee. So how are officials in Milwaukee preparing for this event in light of Saturday's shooting? Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, joins me now. Thank you for making time this morning.
CAVALIER JOHNSON: Good morning. Thank you.
PFEIFFER: A very big, broad question for you. This has turned into a much different event than you might have thought it was going to be when you knew your city was going to host it. How are you feeling going into it?
JOHNSON: Well, first of all, let me just say that the attack, the attempted shooting, the actual event that happened - the attempted assassination, should I say, on the former President, Mr. Trump - was horrific. It was terrible. It should not happen to anyone. It shouldn't happen to kids going to school. It shouldn't happen to folks going to the grocery store. It shouldn't happen to somebody running for President of the United States. Be that what it is, months ago, myself and other partners, we worked in a bipartisan manner, go to Congress to work to increase the resources that we would receive for this event - and, as it was correctly pointed out, it's a National Special Security Event, so it's the highest available designation that a community could receive for such an event, so it is the most heightened level of security that you possibly could have here in Milwaukee for this. So we're glad that we had worked so diligently over the course of the last several months to get those additional resources here for public safety.
PFEIFFER: But as we mentioned, the plan will not change, even despite the assassination attempt. How are you feeling about the assessment not to change anything?
JOHNSON: Well, again, this is the highest level of security that you can have in the United States, even more so than what was present at Mr. Trump's rally the other day when the assassination attempt took place. So by definition, a National Special Security Event is a higher degree of security, and for us, I mean, we've been working at this for about 18 months, the security precautions. I know that the Secret Service, working in conjunction with local law enforcement, had about two dozen or so subcommittees, all related to every single facet of public safety. So the director of the Secret Service mentioned her confidence in this. Obviously, our folks on the ground here, from the police chief to the RNC coordinator and others, feel very, very confident in the Secret Service's plan.
PFEIFFER: And what are...
JOHNSON: It's working with not just the Milwaukee police department, but other agencies.
PFEIFFER: What are some of the security measures in place that might reassure people who feel concerned?
JOHNSON: Sure. So with the work that we did over the course of the last several months, we were able to bring in thousands of other officers from jurisdictions not just across Wisconsin but across the United States, so there is a heightened level of security here with those additional security personnel. Preemptively, in Milwaukee, we passed - our Common Council did, and I signed as Mayor - a local ordinance prohibiting certain hard items that can be used as projectiles from being brought into the outer perimeter - or, as some may call it, the soft zone - so we've taken a number of precautions to make sure that this is going to be a safe event for everybody.
PFEIFFER: However, Wisconsin is an open-carry state. That means people will be able to carry firearms near the event. Give us a sense of what those laws permit, and how they could affect security at the convention.
JOHNSON: Sure, absolutely. So right now, I'm in my office at City Hall, not inside the perimeter, whether it's the hard perimeter or the soft perimeter, just outside of it, and on the sidewalk right now, because of Wisconsin state law - as you correctly indicate, it's an open-carry state - somebody could carry a gun openly. That's the law here. We would have preferred to have been in a position where we might be able to restrict that sort of use, especially given the national security event that we have going on here today. However, state law supersedes local ordinances, and we were not able to do that.
PFEIFFER: And does that - how are you feeling about that slightly additional level of risk because of that?
JOHNSON: I mean, I wish that we were in a position to do something more about that, but we took all the precautions that we possibly could, excluding that one, because, again, local ordinances in the state of Wisconsin do not supersede state law.
PFEIFFER: So law allows it. That is Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. Thank you, and good luck this week.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
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