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GOP convention to go on as planned in Milwaukee, with Trump in attendance • Rhode Island Current

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GOP convention to go on as planned in Milwaukee, with Trump in attendance • Rhode Island Current


WASHINGTON — Thousands of Republicans will gather in Milwaukee beginning Monday for the party’s presidential nominating convention — a typically joyous occasion that will likely take on a different tone this year after a gunman shot at Donald Trump, injuring him, on Saturday.

FBI identifies shooter in assassination attempt on Trump at Butler rally

Trump, who will be formally nominated as the GOP’s presidential nominee on Thursday, still plans to attend the convention and officials stress the four-day event will go on as normal.

The shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania is being investigated as an attempted assassination and the FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa. The U.S. Secret Service “neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased,” the Secret Service said.

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Trump, who has been declared “safe” by the Secret Service, posted on social media Sunday morning that he was still looking “forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.”

“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump wrote. “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”

Senior advisors to the Trump campaign Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita released a statement hours after the shooting on Saturday to say that the former president wasn’t changing his plans.

“President Trump looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States,” Wiles and LaCivita wrote in a joint statement. “As our party’s nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again.”

Reince Priebus, chairman of the MKE 2024 Host Committee, said in a separate statement that he was “heartbroken that reports indicate that at least one innocent person has been killed and perhaps others have been injured. This horrific violence has no place in America.”

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“Guests have already begun to arrive in Wisconsin, and we look forward to working with the Republican National Committee to welcome everyone to Milwaukee this week,” Priebus added.

Political party conventions are designated as National Special Security Events, or NSSEs, and come with extremely heightened security compared to a typical campaign rally.

The Secret Service will have at least two security perimeters around the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee and the city itself will be swarming with additional federal, state and local law enforcement officers.

The convention will still host speeches throughout the week and the dozens of side events hosted by state Republican Parties and conservative organizations were still expected to continue, though likely with a more somber mood than was planned before the shooting.

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2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick

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2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick


WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.

Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.

According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.

The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.

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The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.

A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.

State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information


A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.

Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.

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McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.

“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”

“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”

The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.

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The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.

The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.

At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than $500K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than 0K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe


As the two-year anniversary of his wife’s death approaches, widowed single father Scott Naso is sounding an alarm to fellow parents across the country — and especially in Rhode Island, where he lives with his now 4-year-old daughter, Laila.



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