“It is my responsibility to provide security for our city and, most importantly, for the citizens I serve,” Williams said in a statement. “With a growing list of challenges, be it finance, communication and timeline, I cannot confidently say that this event and our community will not be at risk.”
Attendance will be limited to 2,500 regular RNC delegates during the first three days of the convention, and delegates may bring one guest and alternate delegates may also attend, with a total attendance limit of approximately 7,000 people.
But Williams, a Republican, said Monday that communication problems, concerns about reimbursement and a truncated time period have forced his department “beyond the point of no return to run the event safely and securely.”
CNN has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
RNC spokeswoman Mandi Merritt told CNN in a statement Monday that the committee “continues to work closely with local leaders in Jacksonville to plan the convention, including health and safety measures, and the Justice Department is in the process of allocating millions of dollars in a security grant. “
“Jacksonville has hosted more than 70,000 people for soccer games and other events, and we are confident that state, local and federal officials can ensure a safe event for our attendees,” he said.
Jacksonville Republicans had presented the site as the best place in the big city where Republicans control both state and municipal government.
In 2016, Trump led Duval County, which includes all of Jacksonville, by just over 1 percentage point, but neighboring St. Johns County by more than 30 points. The Northeast Florida stretch is a deep red country for Trump, where the campaign believes it can widen its margins to help Florida win, which is crucial to building a path to 270 electoral votes.
This story has been updated with comments from the Republican National Committee.
CNN’s Dan Merica, Jeff Zeleny, Ryan Nobles and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
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