The first Republican midterm convention is over. Thousands of people gathered in Dallas to hear from top Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
While protesters and supporters rallied outside American Airlines Center, Dallas police said the convention itself went smoothly from a security standpoint.
“I think every officer walked away with pride that we were the first to say that we worked this midterm convention and we did it, you know, very well,” said Allison Hudson, assistant director of the Dallas Police Department’s Office of Media Relations.
Dallas police worked with the U.S. Secret Service on security for the event. Hudson said Dallas Police Chief Comeaux also met privately with Trump, the city manager and fire chief to discuss security.
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“And when you have the president of the United States that calls and says, I want a meeting with the chief and the city manager, the fire chief, you go,” Hudson said. “And so it was a meeting to help security.”
Police said two people were arrested during the convention.
Asked what the department would do differently, Hudson said the event demonstrated Dallas was prepared to handle large-scale events.
“I think if we had to take away anything from this event, it shows that Dallas is ready to host whatever comes our way,” Hudson said.
But for some businesses near the convention, the security footprint came with a high cost.
Even after the convention ended, security gates remained in place around parts of the American Airlines Center, limiting access to some businesses.
Kendall Williams, chef and owner of Bluebonnet and Thyme, said her restaurant had to close for two days because customers could not easily reach the business.
“We had to shut down for the past two days because we had no business,” Williams said. “Nobody could get to us. We have high fences, and nobody can get in unless they are a resident.”
Williams said the restaurant had only five customers during the entire week.
She said the disruption was particularly frustrating because the restaurant is a small business still trying to establish itself.
“And so that really made me feel like the people that ran the convention, the people that were at the convention the whole night, just did not care that they were impeding on a small business,” Williams said.
The city also faced a multimillion-dollar security bill for the convention.
Hudson said Dallas is still waiting for reimbursement for security costs and pointed to the recent FIFA World Cup as an example of how long the process can take.
“We’re still waiting on those reimbursements from FIFA as well,” Hudson said. “So we’re going through that process.”
For Dallas police, the convention tested the city’s ability to handle a major political event. For some businesses surrounding the convention site, the effects may last longer than the event itself.
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