Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said at a Sunday news conference that he has been preparing for the Republican National Convention for two years and has officers from all over the country to help with security, including some from Maine.
“Seven troopers arrived over the weekend and will spend the week there,” Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said Monday by email. “Being paid by the feds, not sure which agency.”
The four-day convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland kicked off on Monday and is where 2,472 Republican delegates will choose the party’s nominee for president and vice president.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has chosen Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate, needs 1,237 delegates to vote for him to secure the nomination and get on the November ballot.
The Cleveland police, bolstered with federal dollars for security, bought 300 bikes and trained officers on how to do their jobs on two wheels, the police chief said.
Washington Post writer Joel Achenbach contributed to this report.