National Lawyers Guild RNC conference

A flyer from a March 2016 conference organized by the National Lawyers Guild, a group that's helping prepare for demonstrations surrounding July's Republican National Convention.

(Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Law enforcement investigators this week began visiting the homes of local activists in an attempt to gather intelligence for possible planned demonstrations surrounding the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Activists said they view the "door-knock" visits as intimidating. A spokeswoman for the local branch of the FBI acknowledged that "community outreach" is taking place as law enforcement officials try to make sure next month's GOP convention is a "safe and secure" event.

Jocelyn Rosnick, a leader with the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a left-leaning group planning legal support for RNC protesters, said over a dozen activists have reported visits by teams of federal and local law enforcement officials this week.

Some of the activists are involved with groups planning RNC demonstrations, while some aren't, she said. She also said that some of the people who were visited were among the 71 people who were arrested in May 2015 in the aftermath of protests that broke out following the acquittal of Michael Brelo, a then-Cleveland police officer who had been charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the 2013 shooting deaths of two Cleveland motorists following a police chase.

Law enforcement officials have asked about past addresses, political and social affiliations and plans for the RNC, Rosnick said.

Activists said they view the visits as chilling of free speech, and are planning a "Know Your Rights" workshop for this Friday.

"There's an implication of force behind [the visits]," said Maggie Rice, an organizer with Food Not Bombs Lake County, a left-leaning group that plans to distribute food at the RNC. "They say that they're friendly and just talking, but it still implies that there could be consequences there."

Donna Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland division of the FBI, confirmed local, state and federal law enforcement have conducted "community outreach" as part of their security planning.

"In preparation for the upcoming RNC, the FBI along with numerous federal state and local law enforcement agencies are working collaboratively with members of the community," Sullivan said. "As part of this preparation, law enforcement is conducting outreach with many individuals to ensure a safe and secure environment for the RNC."

Law enforcement is preparing for possibly significant protest activity at the upcoming GOP convention, scheduled for July 18-21. They have not shared specifics of their approach to identify any plans to disrupt the event. But Cleveland police have acknowledged their strategy includes undercover and plain-clothes operations.

In a June 8 public hearing, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told members of City Council's public safety committee that Cleveland police have a "very robust pre-convention intelligence team."

"We have a real, real good idea of who we think is coming here and what their objectives are," Tomba said in the June 8 hearing. "And if we can deter those objectives, that's what we're going to do."

Like past political-convention host cities, Cleveland has moved to buy a $10 million "protest insurance" policy to protect against possible lawsuits resulting from the convention.

Rice told cleveland.com an FBI agent and a plain-clothes Cleveland police officer this week visited a former Food Not Bombs member's previous home -- where another member of the group happens to now live -- as well as the former member's parents' home, in an unsuccessful attempt to speak to the person.

"None of us plan to answer our doors when the FBI comes knocking, and none of us plan to cooperate in any way," Rice said.

At past political conventions, amidst mostly peaceful protests, small groups of protesters have attempted to disrupt the events by blocking the buses transporting delegates into the convention hall. Past convention host cities likewise have taken varying approaches in anticipating and dealing with these possible disruptions.

At the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, law enforcement raided homes where protest planning was taken place, according to media reports. On the first day of the convention, organized demonstrators smashed windows and attempted to block traffic.

At the 2012 RNC in Tampa, Fla., police have acknowledged infiltrating protest groups to the extent that they were able to install officers into leadership positions. In part due to a forecasted hurricane, protest activity was relatively subdued and only a handful of arrests took place.

Mike Nelson, an attorney who is president of the Cleveland chapter of the NAACP, said he received a call from an FBI agent Thursday morning. The agent this week visited the home of the parents of one of Nelson's past clients, a female student who was arrested following the May 2015 protests over the Brelo acquittal.

"These are not necessarily people who are part of any group, they were just demonstrating their displeasure at the court," Nelson said. "To me, it's not so much that [law enforcement is] trying to get information, it's they're trying to intimidate people to diminish their enthusiasm in expressing their constitutional rights to free expression."