Outside the convention, a less scary America on display
CLEVELAND — Inside the hall, Donald Trump was describing an America beset by “nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records,” who “threaten our very way of life.” Outside, in Cleveland’s Public Square Park, the closest protest zone to Quicken Loans Arena, a large, heavily armed force of police from cities all across the country stood watch over families posing for selfies and splashing in the park’s fountain. Here, for this night at least, there was no fear on display, no violence — and no arrests.
The recently renovated park — 6 acres dominated by a Civil War memorial — was considered a potential flashpoint for clashes, like the ones that had broken out with some frequency at Trump rallies earlier this year, only bigger and potentially involving armed demonstrators taking advantage of Ohio’s open-carry law. But it was heavily patrolled all week, and on Thursday night, as the convention reached its bellowing climax, there was peace.
The overwhelming police presence certainly had a lot to do with it. For most of the evening, the ranks of law enforcement officials were equal to or greater than the number of civilians. And their interactions were nothing like the disturbing pictures out of Ferguson, Mo., or Baton Rouge, La., where police in riot gear advanced on a populace wearing shorts and T-shirts. Cops from across the country on horses, bicycles and on foot fielded questions about their home states, posed for pictures and accepted well wishes and thanks all evening long. At one point, a heavily armed officer with an assault rifle and protective vest laughed as a small child with a plastic gun that blew bubbles ran circles around him, while other children played in the park’s fountain late into the evening.
There were cops from Ohio, Montana, South Carolina, California, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Georgia, with mounted units coming from as far away as Fort Worth, Texas and as close as Columbus, Ohio. Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams, who was making the rounds of the city on a bicycle Thursday evening, stopped by often, taking the time to talk with officers and civilians.
Black Lives Matter had a strong presence, reminding passersby and reporters about Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy killed by Cleveland police in 2014. One African-American man, reviving a term from the 1960s, stood on a bench and, while officers stood nearby, shouted that while he didn’t hate all cops, he did hate “pigs.” Eventually an older white man stepped up and embraced him, one of the many small gestures of friendship throughout the night. Several groups handed out bottles of water to anyone who needed one, and one man carrying a “Free Hugs” sign took the time to fist-bump and thank an entire row of officers.
The tensest moment of the night occurred slightly after 9 p.m. A few dozen anti-Trump, anti-capitalism protesters left the park and crossed the street south of the park. Had they turned left, they would have been heading towards 4th Street, the route that funneled into the entrance of Quicken Loans Arena, where the convention was taking place. Police on bicycles fanned out across the entirety of Euclid Avenue, blocking their way, and after a few minutes of milling about, the group’s members headed right, curving back into the park, where they continued to chant for another hour.
There were some gun-rights supporters carrying long guns and pistols, but they were outnumbered by people lounging in the grass with their dogs, and in one case, a pet lizard. There were also a few men in Guy Fawkes masks, and flag-waving Trump supporters in “Hillary for Prison” shirts, but their exchanges with the anti-Trump demonstrators never got beyond the occasional taunting shout or intense but mostly cordial political argument.
As the night wore on, the various constituencies began to disperse. The last remaining group was Stand Together Against Trump, whose co-founder, Bryan Hambley, has been writing a convention diary for Yahoo News all week. The group of a hundred or so anti-Trump protesters roamed the park chanting variations of, “Donald Trump has got to go.” Later in the evening, an organizer had everyone take a ten-minute break, to “catch their breath and get to know the people around them if they hadn’t already met.” The preferred slogan on more than one sign Thursday night read, “Vote your conscience,” quoting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s Wednesday night address.
As the chanting wound down, it was replaced by music from Rebol, the bustling bar and café situated on the northeast corner of the square. “We’ve had to wear these all week,” said one of the employees when Yahoo News asked about her “Make America Healthy Again” baseball cap, “but today’s the last day. Which is good, because I am not a hat person.”
Two members of She Speaks, a Cleveland women’s group, spent part of the evening doing yoga in the park’s fountain while wearing small, black masks. “This is the first night we’ve tried it,” said one of the members when asked by Yahoo News if this was a usual occurrence. “But I think we’re going to do it some more after this.”
Advocates for marijuana reform stuck it out until late in the night. A police officer who appeared to be engaged in a heated discussion with a banner-waving pot advocate turned out to just be amused by the weed-lover’s disgust that trans fats are legal while marijuana is still outlawed.
A local magician named Gilligan, standing next to a sign that said, “Make America Magical Again,” was having a less enjoyable evening.
“I’ve been down here every day and every night so far this week,” he told Yahoo News, “but this isn’t a great magic crowd. People aren’t particularly positive, and they’re more interested in the drama.”
When Trump’s speech ended, fireworks began going off over the Cuyahoga River, with the park offering a view for those who had stuck around and were clearly outnumbered by law enforcement officials and members of the media. The convention was over, the delegates would soon be dispersing to homes in an America that looked a lot friendlier and less dangerous outside the arena than inside.
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