It’s Day 2 of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
The Beacon Journal has reporters and photographers in and around Cleveland and throughout the region to report on what’s happening. This story will be updated throughout the day, so check back often to find out the latest.
Early evening
Throughout Tuesday, delegates and media members came to Freedom Plaza for a respite from the proceedings inside the arena. While some ate, drank and commiserated, others just enjoyed the sunny day while watching the giant monitors showing the state roll call happening inside.
Dana Kaczmark of Gerard and Allan Banner of Liberty, representing Trumbull County took a break from the goings-on in the arena for a few minutes to sit on one a bench on the plaza’s grassy knoll.
Trump’s loss in Ohio kept the pair of hardcore Trump stumpers from being official delegates but they were rewarded for their dedication with passes to the event.
Kaczmark had never even bothered to vote before becoming a Trump believer and joining the campaign. The first-time voter’s enthusiasm and belief in the GOP candidate is so high, that “I’d take a bullet for him, I really would,” she said.
Kaczmark even coined the term “Trum(p)bull County” which was put on T-shirts that quickly sold out at the recent Trumbull County fair, she said. Once she joined the local GOP, the newly politicized voter even made a bet with Trump officials that if she made 4,000 calls on Trump’s behalf she would get to ride in the presidential nominee’s private plane.
She made more than 7,000 calls all around the country and Hawaii.
I’m still waiting on that ride,” Kaczmark said with a smile.
Banner was enjoying his second convention after going to Tampa in 2012.
He said the two conventions were very similar.
“The people were so absolutely friendly — the conventioneers — and I’m finding the exact same thing here. It’s putting a nice face on Cleveland and being from Ohio I really appreciate that,” Banner said.
9:20 p.m.
Republican congressional leaders are assuring party delegates that having Donald Trump in the White House will help achieve key GOP legislative objectives.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Trump will sign bills to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, build the Keystone pipeline and deny Planned Parenthood any federal money.
McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan also are delivering broadsides against Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democrats.
McConnell says Clinton has “a tortured relationship to the truth.”
Ryan says Clinton represents a third term of Obama’s presidency instead of the “clean break from a failed system” that many Americans want.
The Wisconsin Republican says next week’s Democratic convention will be a “four-day infomercial of politically correct moralizing.”
9:05 p.m.
Donald Trump says he’s proud to be the Republican presidential nominee.
Trump is offering his first words to the party convention after being declared the nominee. He says in a video played in the convention hall that he’s honored to have Mike Pence as his running mate and that the Indiana governor will make a “great, great vice president.”
Trump says he’ll appear with Pence in Cleveland on both Wednesday and Thursday. He says they’ll win Ohio and the presidency.
Trump is promising to bring “real change and leadership” to Washington.
8 p.m and beyond
While each state announced their vote count inside the arena, outside stragglers were enjoying the food and drink available in the Freedom Plaza.
For the drinkers there were several bars stocked with EVERY mixer known to man and nothing but mid-range and top shelf liquors. Highballs seem to be the mixed drink of choice but there were also a couple of fancy mixed drinks such as Bombay lemon-line cucumber and vodka-infused ice tea.
Local food-makers Marigold Catering and Del’s Catering were serving up a small but hearty variety of dishes. Del’s had half-pound burgers along with Polish Boys and pulled pork sandwichers.
Marigold had a Southern food tent featuring “classic cheddar grits” with toppings including bacon, shrimp and scallions and chicken and sausage gumbo or red beans and rice.
The equally popular Midwest tent filled delegates plates with local favorites such as cheddar and potato pierogies with toppings including pickled or “frizzled” onions, kielbasa and sour cream.
“A lot of people have never heard of pierogies,” server Brandi Saucier said while loading up a customer’s bowl with wild mushrooms and sour cream. “The only thing I guarantee them is that they’ll want to go sleep afterwards because pierogies are great comfort food.”
Her serving partner, Mike Taylor, was giving many first-timers primers on the local delicacies.
“It’s kielbasa. It’s very, very Polish. It’s hearty you’ll need to sit down when you’re done and you’ll be back tomorrow,” Taylor enthusiastically told a curious customer.
8:15 p.m.
Mike Pence has been nominated as the Republican vice presidential candidate — and Donald Trump’s running mate.
The Indiana governor was declared the nominee by acclimation — meaning no formal roll call vote is needed. That ruling came from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as he presided over the party’s convention.
McConnell says Pence has the “overwhelming support of this convention” to be the next vice president.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb — who put Pence’s name in nomination — says Pence has overseen record investments in education and eliminated red tape for businesses. He says under Pence’s leadership, more Indiana residents are working and the tech sector is experiencing “explosive” growth.
8:10 p.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has formally declared Donald Trump the winner of the Republican presidential nomination.
Ryan says Trump received 1,725 delegates in the state-by-state roll call. Ryan says Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the runner-up with 475 delegates. Ohio Gov. John Kasich came in third with 129 votes, followed by 113 for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Fifth-place went to physician Ben Carson with seven delegates, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with three delegates and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul with two delegates.
8:05 p.m.
Donald Trump is celebrating his big achievement Tuesday night: officially becoming the Republican nominee for president.
Trump has posted a tweet that it was “such a great honor” after the roll call of the states at the Republican National Convention gave him the number of delegates needed to become the GOP’s nominee.
He added: “I will work hard and never let you down! AMERICA FIRST!”
Trump is set to formally accept the nomination during a Thursday night speech at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
7:36 p.m.
At a news conference Tuesday evening, Cleveland police said they have only made 5 arrests, mostly for minor infractions like petty theft and three cases of trespassing involving people who climbed a flag pole at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to hang a banner. Also, no known injuries to officers or protestors.
The department also noted that “thousands of officers” downtown this week represent “hundreds” of law enforcement agencies from across the country.
6:15 p.m.: Police report protesters going into port-a-potties with empty bags and coming out with full bags. Intent unclear, but potentially ugly.
6:08 p.m.
The RNC released excerpts of speeches that will be delivered at the convention Tuesday night.
Here are some quotes:
• “As a senator you paid women staffers less than men. As head of a foundation you accepted tens of millions of dollars from foreign countries who enslave women and treat them as second-class citizens.” RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day to Hillary Clinton.
• “After 8 years of President Obama, I don’t see the American Dream like I did when I was starting out. All I see is too many people out of work… too many jobs shipped overseas… and too many politicians who don’t care. Donald Trump is a builder. He’s a leader who will bring us together. He’ll make America work again, so we can believe again.” - Founder and CEO of Standard Waterproofing Corporation Andy Wist
• “We must defeat ISIS, and then remain fully committed to destroying Islamic terrorists wherever they hide. It doesn’t have to be like this -- we shouldn’t have to live in fear. This is a fight for freedom. It’s not someone else’s fight, this is our fight. And it is a fight we absolutely must win.” - U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
• “We fight for the rights of all Americans, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation…because the right to protect your life is the most precious right you have.” – Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action Chris Cox
• “The Trumps have also given a gift to those who know them, an approach and an outlook to life which will always guide me. Because of them I now think bigger, and in ways I thought might not even be possible. Donald Trump has told me that a person’s own drive and work ethic are the only limitations to success, and I now believe that and know it to be true.” - Kerry Woolard, Donald Trump Winery General Manager
• “When I think about Hillary Clinton’s pursuit of an anti-coal agenda --- I think about the miner who wakes up before dawn for another ten-hour shift. I think about the bus driver who drives the miners’ children to school. I think about the nurse who cares for the retired miners. I think about the loan officer at the community bank. And I think about the hundreds of coal equipment distributors. I weep for the fabric of my state.” - U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
• “When deciding who to elect as our next president, we owe it to ourselves and our country to make use of this power of reason to evaluate the character, experience, and intentions of the candidates and make an informed decision. We must resist the temptation to take the easy way out and passively accept what is fed to us by the media or the political elite.” - Dr. Ben Carson
5:53 p.m.
Some music stars are not amused by being drawn into the RNC affair this week.
After learning Donald Trump took the stage Monday night to the music “We Are The Champions,” the Twitter account for Queen tweeted: “An unauthorized use at the Republican Convention against our wishes.”
After hearing RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer defend a seemingly-plagiarized speech by Melania Trump by saying John Legend used a similar phrase in his song, John Legend tweeted: “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.”
No official word from Twilight Sparkle as to whether she was also offended by Spicer comparing speech components to My Little Pony, but other Twitter users took exception, causing #twilightsparkle to trend. “If you’re using My Little Pony as a political defense, whatever cause you’re arguing for, you’ve already lost,” read one tweet.
5:45: Police spotted protesters in crowd who appear to be directing demonstrators through wireless communication equipment. This is the most organized protest law enforcement have encountered during RNC. Bicycles turning out to be important piece of police equipment. Police using bikes like mechanical horses, using the bikes to guide protesters and block their paths. Unattended red backpack with gold zippers left on ground near speaker’s platform.
5:40 p.m.
Videos shared on social media depict the gathering at Public Square to be made up of hundreds of protesters representing all aspects of the political spectrum.
The protest started at about noon or possibly earlier. Fights broke out among groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Black Panthers, Black Lives Matter, protesters wearing masks, religious extremists including Westboro Baptist Church and outspoken libertarian radio host Alex Jones.
As depicted in videos posted online by Jones — who’s known for espousing such beliefs as the government orchestrated 9/11 — he and a group of supporters with video cameras approached the already tense protest in Public Square at about 1 p.m.
Within minutes of entering the crowd, Jones was involved in a scuffle with other protesters and police officers. It’s unclear in the videos who instigated the fight.
Videos by other protesters depict Jones escorted from the scene by police. Shortly afterward, pictures showed police had an overwhelming presence as they attempted to separate protesters by their particular ideologies.
At one point, protesters and members of the media were kept from entering the square. Anyone who wanted to leave, though, was allowed to exit.
By 5:30 p.m., the protest appeared to be calming down.
5:25 p.m.
Security researchers at Avast Software on Tuesday said they had successfully tricked more than 1,200 people in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention to connect to phony, unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Of those people, 68 percent left their personal information completely exposed, meaning hackers would be able to view what people accessed while connected, including online bank accounts, emails, dating and messaging apps, even “Pokemon Go.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/rnc-convention-2016-data-security-225823#ixzz4EtNZ1hoO
4:56 p.m.
Scanner: Tense at Public Square. Police are not allowing anyone else in the square, having separated three separate protest groups from each other. Dispatchers telling officers to keep an eye out for woman and man carrying large military duffel bag, another man with an assault rifle, reports of demonstrators spitting on each other, someone possibly throwing objects from a window. Police have called for extra “arrest teams.”
4:19 p.m.
Scanner: Someone on Public Square is throwing “urine” bombs. Another report that urine is in squirt guns.
Officers also being sent to check on people who are donning goggles on the west side of the square.
“Anti-Muslim protestors are masking up,” officer said.
4:15 p.m.
Nearly a dozen members of the California delegation’s advance team, staying at the Kalahari water park resort in Sandusky, are showing signs of having norovirus, the Erie County health commissioner said.
They are being quarantined. Noroviruses trigger explosive bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.
Jim Brulte, the California delegation chairman, told STAT in an email that the trouble started when one of the staff members who arrived ahead of the delegation came down with a virus and infected her husband.
Read more here: https://www.statnews.com/2016/07/19/norovirus-republican-convention-cleveland/
4:09 p.m.: Uber - the cyber ride option to taxis and limos - has been big business in Summit County during the RNC.
A driver who didn’t want his name used said the money he earned Monday - about $300 - was twice that of a normal day.
But it’s all because of increased business, which translates to increased rates charged by Uber.
Tips are supposed to be a no-no for Uber drivers. Riders pay online and there’s not even an option to leave drivers tips.
But many locals still toss drivers a buck or two, the Uber driver said.
Not so with the out-of-towners in for the RNC convention.
“Cheap bastards,” the Uber driver said Tuesday, running off to pick up another fare just after lunch.
Two favorite Summit County destinations for Uber riders during the RNC? Montrose, either the new Melt - the grilled-cheese mecca rooted in Cuyahoga County - or Winking Lizard/Lizardville, mecca of craft beer and bourbon.
- Amanda Garrett
4 p.m.
Scanner: Police asking for 100 troopers deployed to Public Square immediately. Asking help to thin and separate crowd, which includes several armed men.
Also asking for more troops to respond to Euclid and Ontario where there is a large Ku Klux Klan group.
3:50 p.m.
Police scanner: Officers kept a close eye as a couple dozen Bible Believers marched ever closer to Westboro Baptist Church demonstrators. The two groups met and exchanged agitated words while bike units kept them separated. “This little argument has broken up,” offer reported as Bible Believers continued on their way. Now another small group of demonstrators is marching up to take their turn at Westboro.
3:47: Looking for a hotel room in Summit County? Good luck.
By lunchtime Tuesday, almost all of the 6,000 hotel rooms here are booked by RNC delegates and their families, members of the media or others helping out with the convention, said Gregg Mervis, president and CEO of Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau.
If there are any rooms left, Mervis said, they’re likely priced at a premium, higher than what locals might be accustomed to paying.
Mervis Tuesday was making the rounds of hotels, checking in with management and RNC volunteers, making sure they had everything they needed to deal with the crowds - maps and promotional material and to show off local restaurants and attractions.
RNC volunteers working in Fairlawn Tuesday said they were surprised by how visitors referred to our area.
There not only was no difference between Akron, Fairlawn and Canton, they said. Visitors considered all of Northeast Ohio one giant Clevleand.
“Municipal boundaries are irrelevant for travelers,” Mervis said. “They want to know where things are and how long it will take to get there.”
Mervis said Cleveland never would have landed the convention without its neighbor to the south. Cuyahoga County doesn’t have enough hotel rooms or amenities. Summit County was part of the bid package.
“Our hope is that people seeing us now will remember us as a legacy community that can host guests from all over the county,” Mervis said.
- Amanda Garrett
3:40 p.m.
Members of the support team for the California delegation to the Republican National Convention have been hit with a norovirus outbreak.
Health officials say about a dozen people are affected by the virus, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea.
Pete Schade (shade), health commissioner for Ohio’s Erie County, says the individuals are members of the logistics team for the convention delegates.
3:26 p.m.
Bill T. Davis said he’s 80 years-old, has only has one good eye and is too old to chase “pretty ladies.”
“People ask me what I’m going to do now,” the friend of the Missouri delegation said yesterday. “I tell them I’m going to change the government.”
Davis was on one of two tour buses dropping delegates back at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn after a taking a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
Davis was wearing a blue neck tie he designed himself - The word “republic” fills the entire length and a copy of Founding Father Ben Franklin’s signature was on the bottom. Democracy can’t work, he said. The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic.
Davis said he attended the RNC in Tampa four years ago when Mitt Romey was the candidate.
“It was bo-ring,” Davis said, pulling up out his mobile phone and searching for a website. “There’s a lot more vigor, a lot more excitement in Cleveland.”
When Davis found what he was looking for, he showed a reporter a video of himself, sitting with his legs crossed at the knee in short red shorts. It was super-imposed over a FOX news site.
It’s part of Davis’s website - smartbuttcomedy.com. Davis started out selling aprons and coffee mugs on the site, but now it’s mostly dedicated to political humor and jokes.
- Amanda Garrett
2:30 p.m.
Social media posts show two men demonstrating Ohio’s open carry laws in Public Square.
The men are depicted wearing Muslim-style clothing and carrying rifles slung over their shoulders.
No incidents have occurred with the men.
1:35 p.m.
Snowplows are out and about today — but not for the reasons you’d think.
The Ohio Department of Transportation’s plows were spotted on Interstate 77 today, and ODOT spokesman Brent Kovacs said they’re on standby in case of spills and debris anywhere in Northeast Ohio as long as the Republican National Convention is ongoing.
“We’ve got a ton of people in town,” he said. “They’re out just in case.”
12:45 p.m.
About 30 members of Vets vs. Hate spoke in Cleveland’s bustling Public Square during lunch Tuesday, explaining why they oppose Donald Trump.
Raymond Curtis of New York City said the national group, which has about 2,000 members, disagrees with Trump’s “hate and bigotry” and with his use of veterans to promote his message.
“We’ve heard him marginalize every single entity that exists in out nation,” he said.
Noon
It’s part protest, part fiesta in downtown Cleveland.
Protesters dressed in all black were dancing in a grassy area at Cleveland’s Public Square in advance of a planned events.
A veterans group is speaking out against Donald Trump.
Pro-immigration supporters also are there, including one wearing a colorful sombrero and red poncho and displaying a sign that reads, “Build a wall around Trump.”
Another group is making their own ponchos, some painted with the words “Wall off Trump.” They say they plan to don the garb for a protest Wednesday morning, where they’ll create a “human wall.”
Looking for a little shelter amid all these protests?
Check out the “Trump Hut,” a “luxury protesting hut in the shape of Donald Trump’s hair.”
A prototype is on display in downtown Cleveland, but its makers say they’re hoping to raise money for more through Kickstarter.
11:50 a.m.
Many of the dorms at the University of Akron are filled this week with security and volunteer forces for the RNC.
A total of 800 people from the U.S. Secret Service (including the Transportation Security Administration), the Ohio National Guard and the American Red Cross are bunking at UA, a university spokeswoman confirmed this morning.
She said she couldn’t provide an exact breakdown for each organization.
The Red Cross and National Guard will leave Saturday, while the Secret Service is sticking around town until Sunday.
10:56 a.m.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams gave a stern warning to people popping up around the city wearing masks similar to the infamous Anonymous group.
“We want to keep this city safe,” he said during a press conference Tuesday morning in the Cleveland Public Auditorium. “If you have a different agenda, then we’ve got a problem.”
Members of Anonymous — the Internet-based vigilante “hacktivist” group often associated with anarchy — wear Guy Fawkes masks inspired by the 2006 film “V For Vendetta.”
Williams said police responded to a dozen calls of mask-wearing people from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday. Officers confiscated gas masks and sling shots from one group.
If the mask-wearers want to protest like other groups, Williams said police will be happy to work with them.
Williams reported no major incidents so far as the second day of the convention starts.
10:50 a.m.
Cleveland police are keeping an eye on East 4th Street and Euclid Avenue, where an FBI informant reported a protest by revolutionary communists may start up at 11 a.m.
The protest is one of several happening across the city.
A Black Lives Matter protest is beginning at 12th Street SW and Chester Avenue, and protesters on both sides of the abortion issue are reportedly gathering near FirstEnergy Stadium for a protest against one another.
10:30 a.m.
Cleveland police report three people were arrested this morning for climbing flagpoles at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to hang an anti-Trump banner.
Photos on social media show the activists climbed the adjacent flagpoles and hung the banner between them. The banner read, “Don’t Trump our communities,” and advocated for banning fracking and “tearing down the wall.”
The fire department took the banner down.
The activists were charged with criminal mischief.
9 a.m.
Minority-owned businesses are selling their products at a pop up store established in the convention’s Display Lot, across from Quicken Loans Arena.
Representatives of the Cleveland Urban League will kick off the league’s centennial celebration today with a 1:30 p.m. news conference at the store.
The store is “designed to showcase the rich history and Minority Business Enterprise CEOs that use the many services that the [Cleveland] MBE Center has to offer,” the Urban League said in a news release.
— Report compiled by Nick Glunt, Stephanie Warsmith and Katie Byardp.