According to Politico, the U.S. Secret Service is keeping its eye on Black Lives Matter activities and activists ahead of this summer’s Republican National Convention:
Intelligence gathering for the Republican convention has already begun. Law enforcement agencies are monitoring social media posting and tracking protest groups such as Black Lives Matter, which have disrupted Trump rallies over the past several weeks. The Secret Service is even using its Twitter account to warn users about their commentary. The agency tweeted recently, “Watch what you say on Social Media!” with a link to a news story about how agents visited a man who joked about sending a bomb when Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were visiting his region.
Convention spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said the Secret Service is serving as the point law enforcement agency to keep the convention, other events and the community secure.
“They are working with local, state and federal partners who together are developing security plans leading up to the national convention,” Kukowski wrote in an email.
Earlier this month, the city of Cleveland solicited bids on its contracting website for interlocking steel barriers and 2,000 sets of riot gear, including collapsible batons, as it prepares to spend the $50 million federal grant set aside to pay for convention security needs. Cleveland is also looking to recruit police officers from other cities to help bolster its ranks to 5,000 officers.
Spying on Black Lives Matter is not new. Spying on all activists as well as regular everyday people during this particular period is not new, either. Too bad, though, that the Secret Service probably won’t be looking for violence and troublemaking in the main place that it has been emanating from.