New RNC Rules Include Small Changes From The Old Ones

The City of Cleveland has approved new rules for demonstrations during next month’s Republican National Convention, with the city agreeing to some demands made in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The city will permit parades that begin between the hours of two and four in the afternoon on July 18th, the first day of the convention. And for the next three days, parades can start between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Those hours are similar to what was in the original rules, released in May, which were overturned by a federal judge earlier this week.  Each march is allotted 50 minutes, But the city has agreed to allow marchers some flexibility.

The downtown event zone has been reduced. W. 25th Street is no longer part of the area under RNC-related restrictions. The Lorain-Carnegie Bridge is still included, but the western boundary is now 20th Street. Almost all of downtown east of there remains in the event zone, sticking close to the original proposal.  And the parade route, instead of stopping at Ontario and 9th Streets, will now include a turn back toward downtown and then a right onto Carnegie Street.

he city’s rules banning installed speaker platforms outside of Public Square, restricting park use within the event zone, and limiting what people are allowed to carry remain in effect.