How CMPD, Secret Service put on safe campaign rallies
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Secret Service officers post near an exit at a rally for Donald Trump at the Bojangles Coliseum on July 24, 2024. Photo: Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images
During an intense presidential election, preparing for and safely executing candidate visits has become a regular expectation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Why it matters: Candidates are eager to show face in the battleground state of North Carolina. But that comes with unprecedented challenges in 2024.
- Rallies are drawing huge turnouts, protests are a regularity on the sidelines and threats are on the rise. Former President Trump has survived two apparent assassination attempts.
What they're saying: "I've been doing this for ... over 32 years now, so that's a lot of presidential elections," CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said Thursday, speaking to a private business audience in Charlotte. "I have never seen one ... that is really this concerning or this much attention has been given to it."
- "It's just a more intense environment," said Special Agent in Charge Jason Byrnes of the U.S. Secret Service Charlotte Field Office.
Between the lines: Putting on a campaign visit takes substantial resources, Jennings said. The most obvious to people in Charlotte: Interstates are shut down to move the candidates.
- The recent back-to-back visits of Harris and Trump at Bojangles Coliseum backed up traffic on Independence Boulevard so badly that some people opted to work from home or had the day off.
Zoom in: To ensure the rest of the city is still patrolled, Jennings says CMPD will never pull from its radio response. But the motorcycle and dignitary protection unit are front and center at these events. Sometimes, detectives put on uniforms and take on different tasks.
- Secret Service will fly in 40 to 50 agents to supplement local law enforcement, Byrnes says. The agency is also using drones more to cover areas.
- On occasions when they don't have the manpower, Jennings says, they will tell candidates: "It's not a good time to come to Charlotte."
Driving the news: The Secret Service has had to stop candidates from trying to visit western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
- "All the candidates want to come to Asheville. I mean, that's the thing to do right now," Byrnes says. "The reality is that people are suffering, and it's just not a good time. And they've been respectful to that."
- As a compromise, President Biden did a flyover tour of the devastation in western North Carolina.
The intrigue: Byrnes explains it's always a compromise to protect candidates.
- "[Biden's] agenda is to be out there in the public and be the commander in chief. And the staff wants him to be visible," Byrnes says. "That's my worst nightmare, right? I want him to walk behind the kitchen and no one sees them, and they want to parade them through the halls."
- Trump sometimes wears a bulletproof vest while traveling through places, Byrnes revealed. But it depends on how the site is built. During Trump's recent Wilmington rally, the Secret Service used 18-wheelers to shield the line of sight. They'll also use ballistic glass.
- Before a presidential campaign visit, agencies meet five to seven days in advance to plan. That window shrinks as the election draws near, "which is not ideal," Byrnes says.