Cleveland, Philadelphia Increase Security for Political Conventions

AS IT IS 2016-07-12 Cleveland, Philadelphia Increase Security for Political Conventions

The two main parties in the United States will officially nominate their presidential candidates at national political conventions later this month.

The Republican Party is holding its national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 18 to July 21. The Republicans are expected to officially nominate businessman Donald Trump¹ as their candidate.

The Democrats² are preparing to meet at the end of the month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The party will officially nominate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as its candidate.

Millions of dollars are being spent on security for the two conventions. The cities of Philadelphia and Cleveland have each received $50 million to pay for security, according to multiple sources. The money was awarded in federal grants to keep the convention grounds and the areas around them safe.

Close to 50,000 people are expected to travel to Cleveland for the Republican convention. That number includes about 6,000 demonstrators.

Democratic and Republican protesters clashed at a number of Trump campaign events earlier this year. Police in Cleveland are preparing for the possibility of unrest.

The office of Cleveland’s mayor says the “size and significance of the convention creates unique challenges.” City officials have put special restrictions³ in place.

Cleveland plans to enforce rules designed to control demonstrations⁴. The city will limit marches to 50 minutes. Most of the marches will be held in the morning before Republican delegates gather at the convention site. The planned parade route will send demonstrators in a direction away from the meeting area.

Dan Bulla is the president of a private security company. He thinks the biggest problems will be physical acts of civil disobedience. These acts include blocking streets, disabling police vehicles and trying to incite⁵ police action.

Bulla said there may be “more opportunity for disruption and violence” in Cleveland than at the Democratic National Convention.

Officials in Philadelphia will let supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to demonstrate in a park near the Democrats’ convention site. Sanders was Clinton’s main opponent in the race for the presidential nomination⁶.

The U.S. Secret Service is heavily involved in planning political conventions. The agency has been working with local and federal law enforcement to prepare for the meetings in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Nicole Mainor works for the Secret Service. She told VOA: “If individuals or groups decide to act unlawfully, plans have been put in place to …address them. We understand the nature of [these events]. We have anticipated the number of individuals we may encounter.”

Law enforcement officials are also guarding against a possible terror attack or attacks on computers. Cyber-attacks are the “most significant” threat, said Bulla. Officials are working with computer experts to stop hackers⁸’ attempts to cut off telephone service and electricity.

Bulla said the threat of a terrorist attack does not rate as high as threats of cyber-attacks and civil disobedience.

In a related development, a federal judge decided⁹ some of Cleveland’s rules for protesters were unconstitutional. The rules would have banned some objects from a 5.6-kilometer wide “event zone.” Those items include large backpacks, adhesive¹⁰ tape and string.

The rules would have also limited where demonstrators could speak.

Cleveland officials say they will appeal the ruling.

Words in This Story

grant –? n. public money that is given to someone or something for use on a project or for a particular purpose

civil disobedience – n. refusal to obey laws as a way of forcing the government to do or change something

altercations¹¹ – n. noisy or angry arguments

cyber-attack – n. an attempt by a computer hacker⁷ to damage or destroy a computer network or system

disruption – n. an event that causes something to be unable to continue in the normal way

hackers – n. people who secretly get access to a computer system in order to get information or cause damage

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

8 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 adhesive   

n.粘合剂；adj.可粘着的，粘性的

参考例句：

• You'll need a strong adhesive to mend that chair. 你需要一种粘性很强的东西来修理那把椅子。
• Would you give me an adhesive stamp?请给我一枚带胶邮票好吗？

11 altercations   

n.争辩，争吵( altercation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Have I been in physical altercations with men? 我有和男人们发生肢体上冲突么？ 来自互联网