Hundreds of protesters — falling short of the 5,000 or so expected — marched on Tuesday. Organizers blamed the relatively small turnout on Hurricane Isaac, since some buses that had planned to bring people to the rally from outside of Tampa canceled.
A group of protesters who call themselves “Black Bloc,” lock arms while marching out of the designated protest area.
After RNC Chairman Reince Priebus banged the gavel to end the day’s session, people on the floor bowed their heads in prayer during an invocation.
Tuesday’s shortened session, due to Isaac, was the first meeting of the RNC at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. It was so informal that credentials weren’t checked as people entered the convention.
Ron Paul supporter and Oregon delegate John Antoine, center, said that Paul delegates were shut out from voicing their support for the presidential nominee at the convention.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio made an appearance and speech at Nuestra Noche: Midnight in Ybor, an invitation only party at the Cuban Club in the Ybor neighborhood of Tampa. Rubio is scheduled to introduce Mitt Romney Thursday night.
The Roving Radical Dance Party boogies down 7th and 8th streets in the Ybor neighborhood in Tampa. Their Facebook page describes the event: “let’s dance like this world is ending and another one is being born. we are radical anarchists asking republicans to dance ‘cause what’s the chance of anybody moving from right to left if the only moves they see are NBC and CBS?”
