Thousands of people are expected to descend on Cleveland, Ohio next week to attend the Republican National Convention, and many are planning to protest the event as well. Leading up to the convention, the FBI has been calling and visiting prominent Black Lives Matter activists in ways that some of the activists say felt like a warning.
According to the Washington Post, at least six Black Lives Matter activists from cities around the country, including San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. have been contacted recently by the FBI regarding the convention.
Sam Sinyangwe, a San Francisco-based Black Lives Matter activist told the Washington Post an FBI agent called him and "basically told me not to go to Cleveland." Sinyangwe, who also works for the police reform group Campaign Zero also tweeted a thread about his experience being contacted by the agent:
Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowry also tweeted that the grandmother of St. Louis-based Black Lives Matter activist Johnetta Elzie was visited by the FBI:
Elzie told Lowry she saw the visit as an "intimidation tactic," adding that the FBI wants to scare activists away from protesting the GOP convention in Cleveland.
Elzie also tweeted about the FBI's calls and visits to activists, saying some activists were afraid to speak publicly about being contacted:
Though many people and organizations are sure to turn up to protest the convention, one Black Lives Matter activist, Mervyn Marcano, told the Washington Post that "Most folks in our movement aren’t getting on a plane to waste time with Donald Trump."
Samuel Sinyangwe and Johnetta Elzie did not reply to Complex's requests for comment.
