If they meet, and they're meeting behind closed doors, and they're taking input from only one side of the issues, that's not democracy. D.C. Many of those activists are preparing for this month's Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. One protest group, the Ruckus Society, was holding a three-day protest training seminar this weekend. Other activist groups, including gun rights advocates and a pro-welfare group, picketed in a designated protest area set up by Pennsylvania State Police. The gravel lot in the middle of a highway construction site was the only protest site visible from the road to the conference center.
Security is tight.
Dark-suited men wearing earpieces stood around all the entrances to the conference center. Beige, silver and black Ford Crown Victorias cruised the surrounding streets continuously. So much security got on some people's nerves. Abraham Bonowitz, an anti-death penalty activist from Florida, said he was followed around town by a green van while he was driving to a demonstration. It spooked him enough to dial 911 on his cell phone.