RNC protests more muted than expected following Trump assassination attempt

Protests at the Republican National Convention have been more muted than expected, likely due to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump days prior.

The attempted assassination of Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally has caused many Democrats and left-wing activists to tone down their rhetoric as the country reels from the first major assassination attempt against a president or former president in over 40 years. This hesitance extended to protests outside the RNC in Milwaukee, which are turning out to be far smaller than expected.

“The fear-mongering leading up to the protests definitely did not help, especially after the shooting on Saturday,” Omar Flores, co-chairman of the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024, told Politico of the size of the march.

He estimated that the march reached 3,000 people “at its peak,” well short of the 5,000 they were hoping for.

“Everyone in that crowd knew they had to take a moral stand, regardless of the perceived risk,” he said of any concerns following the weekend shooting. “We hope that our march can show people in the future that we can do this. We can keep people safe and we can fight back.”

Nadine Seiler, who traveled to Milwaukee from Maryland, told NPR that she was afraid the low turnout would help elect Trump.

Trump narrowly survived the Saturday assassination attempt, turning his head at the last moment so the bullet only grazed his ear. Bystander Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief, was shot in the head and killed while shielding his family, while two others were seriously wounded.