GOP CONVENTION | Some Trump backers bring guns to big rally
CLEVELAND (AP) — More than 100 Donald Trump supporters are starting to show up for the first major pro-Trump rally during this week’s Republican National Convention.
About a dozen are legally carrying guns near downtown Cleveland, but there’s no obvious sign of a police presence.
There’s been much discussion about open carry as the convention gets underway Monday.
The president of Cleveland’s police union had asked Ohio Gov. John Kasich to suspend the law allowing legal gun owners to carry firearms openly. But Kasich says he doesn’t have that authority.
A Pennsylvania man who’s attending the Trump rally with a Smith and Wesson handgun strapped to his belt says he and the others carrying guns are not there to intimidate anyone. He says it’s more about exercising their rights.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said Monday that police officers are being told to be especially cautious.