Photographers Are Gearing Up for the Protesters War Aka the GOP Convention
How did we get here?
The 2016 political season has been the most fractious in living memory. This week, America’s potpourri of turmoil will coalesce in Cleveland as groups from around the country come to support or protest the Republican National Convention. Or more accurately, they’ve come here because of Donald Trump, the demigod of modern American disarray.
‘Political protests have always been dangerous. But now is more dangerous than ever.’
Capturing these confrontations will be the nation’s corps of photo and video journalists. And many of them are packing protective gear—kevlar vests, helmets, gas masks—stuff that usually stays in the closet unless their assignment is a war zone.
“I’m bringing extra gear that I normally wouldn’t, including my bullet proof vest,” says Timothy Fadek, a freelance photographer who works for several German publications, as well as WIRED. “That might sound a little dramatic, but when I started reading about the open carry weapon policy in Ohio I took things more seriously.” The vest is in addition to a ventilator mask to protect against tear gas and a skateboard helmet—just in case people start throwing rocks and bottles. “This rates on the same level as covering the revolution in Cairo,” says Fadek, who covered the Egyptian Arab Spring uprising for Time in 2011.
More: Photographers Are Gearing Up for the Republican Convention Like It’s War