Just a note to my fellow Occupy-ers (for those who don't know me, I've been with Occupy St Pete FL from day one) who are planning on being in Tampa for the Republican National Convention in August, mostly regarding the situation on the ground here that everyone should take into account. I hope we get as many people as possible here during convention week, but I want everyone to be clear about what the situation will be here and make appropriate preparations.
Tampa's Ordinance: The city of Tampa is in the process of passing a "Clean Zone" ordinance (later renamed to a nicer-sounding "Event Zone") that applies specifically to the RNC. Among its provisions:
1. Areas of the city (a rather large area, actually) located near the convention site are designated as "clean zones". These extend far beyond the zone established by the Secret Service in the immediate vicinity of the convention forum--the clean zones extend throughout downtown Tampa, across the channel to the other side, parts of several nearby islands, and for some distance out into the city. Even boats are banned from entering the Clean Zone.
2. Within these clean zones, protest groups of more than 50 must have a permit, must stick to designated parade routes and areas, and cannot protest for longer than 90 minutes (the length of time the Tampa police can tolerate the heat in their heavy riot gear). The city tried to impose a permit fee, but has now backed away from that.
3. A wide variety of things are banned within the "clean zone", including wooden sticks (for signs, etc), metal-tipped umbrellas, masks of any sort including gas masks (and presumably V for Vendetta masks), and water pistols (real guns are OK, though--if you have a legal permit to carry, you can pack your loaded 45 with no problem).
4. No camping. I think we all know who that is aimed at.
5. You can protest all day long in city parks outside the Clean Zone. Nobody will see you anyway.
Tampa is importing cops from all over the country for this. Current estimates conclude that there will be at least one cop for every four protesters. In preparation for the convention, the Tampa and St Pete police have both obtained armored vehicles. Yes, you read that right--armored vehicles. They give every indication that they are just itching to break some heads and pepper-spray some faces. And keep in mind that the Feds are really the ones calling the shots--Homeland Security will be heavy on the ground at the convention site, and they are a whole different league than the local cops.
To be blunt, Tampa Bay will be a police state for the entire week. Plan accordingly.
Some words about logistics:
Think about where you are going to stay. For those unfamiliar with Florida geography, the cities of Tampa and St Petersburg lie on opposite sides of Tampa Bay, connected by three 15-mile bridges. The convention itself is being held in downtown Tampa; most of the delegates will be in hotels in St Pete.
If you are planning to stay in a hotel; most of the hotels will be chewed up by the convention. Get a room early. For those without cars, Tampa is by far your best bet--the local bus service will be able to get you to the convention pretty easily. St Pete is not a good option for the car-less; there is only one bus line that runs between St Pete and Tampa, and it only runs three times in the morning (once an hour) and three times in the early evening--rush hours, essentially. If you do not have a car, there is simply no good way to get from St Pete to the convention.
Both Occupy Tampa and Occupy St Pete have discussed the possibility of obtaining shelter for protesters by either camping in parks or camping at foreclosed homes--sadly we have concluded that neither is a viable option. Both Occupy Tampa and Occupy St Pete are very small, with less than 20 active members each. Occupy Tampa has been beaten down by a series of arrests--as a result of the subsequent legal troubles, Occupy Tampa will not be participating in any RNC actions. Occupy St Pete will be having an anti-military-spending action near MacDill Air Base (the headquarters for US Central Command in charge of both Iraq and Afghanistan), a few miles away from the actual convention site, on the Wednesday of convention week. That is being planned as an entirely legal event without civil disobedience, mostly as a place for people who want to get away from the convention for a while. As far as holding a park or occupying foreclosed homes for people to camp in, the local Occupy here simply does not have the people or the resources to do that.
If your group plans to camp in a park: Tampa and St Petersburg both have VERY stringent anti-homeless laws, and you can expect all of them to be aimed at protesters. It is illegal to spend the night in any public park in either St Pete or Tampa. St Pete takes that one step further---it is illegal to "recline" in any public park even during the day (so technically you are breaking the law if you spread out a blanket and sunbathe in the park). In St Pete, an ordinance specifies that gatherings in a park of more than 50 people require insurance and a permit (that ordinance has never been enforced to my knowledge, but it remains as a potential weapon to be used against protesters). In other words, if you plan to occupy a park and camp overnight, be prepared to defend it--the police will absolutely without doubt evict you once curfew is reached. Avoid all the parks along the waterfronts in Tampa and St Pete--it will be too easy for the cops to trap you against the water and round you all up.
Legal help: If you plan on risking arrest, please be aware that there is no local presence of the National Lawyers Guild in Tampa Bay. The local ACLU has done nothing here as far as representing local Occupiers who have been arrested for sleeping in the parks. Occupyers here are basically on their own as far as obtaining legal help. ACLU and National Lawyers Guild may have representatives here for the convention; they may not. Plan accordingly--chances are good that if you are arrested, you will be on your own. Also, the local Occupy groups do not have enough people or resources to serve as outside contacts for people who are arrested. Your group should plan on arranging its own contacts for those who are arrested. And please note that Tampa police have in past actions arrested even clearly identified legal observers at actions. Assume everyone will be liable for arrest.
That's what i have off the top of my head. If anyone has any questions regarding RNC-related logistics, please ask and I will find the answer.