Protests
In October 2011, Tampa city officials began planning for anticipated protests, and discussions centered around small prior protests by the Occupy movement. According to former Tampa City Council member John Dingfelder, then the senior staff attorney for the mid-Florida office of the American Civil Liberties Union, the convention should expect to draw far more protestors and the city should plan on up to 10,000. Dingfelder encouraged the city to be proactive regarding where protests could occur and protestors could sleep. Tampa's Mayor Bob Buckhorn's response was "If they want a place to sleep, they can go home or to a hotel.... Just because they want to occupy something doesn't mean we are obligated to provide them with an opportunity to camp out in a public park or on a sidewalk."
The city of Tampa has banned puppets from downtown during the convention, a decision which some puppet-makers say violates their civil liberties. Police claimed that puppets could be used to conceal weapons—at the 2000 RNC, police charged a group of puppet-makers in Philadelphia with conspiracy to resist arrest.
On August 4, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held a forum addressing what would be considered free speech during the Convention.
In early August, the city announced plans to provide delegates and protestors alike with potable water and toilets.
Various groups began demonstrating on July 27 in Tampa and Tallahassee as part of a one-month countdown to the convention, calling for "good jobs, healthcare, affordable education, equality and peace," emphasizing their feelings to prioritize people over corporate profits.
Unlike the 2004 Republican National Convention which saw 1800 individuals arrested in New York City the Occupy Tampa demonstrators were met with tolerance by Tampa officials.
Read more about this topic: 2012 Republican National Convention