Republicans demand Secret Service chief personally take action to move protests farther from the convention

The Republican National Committee is demanding that Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle personally get involved to move a planned protest zone farther away from the site of the party's convention in Milwaukee this summer, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

The letter, sent Thursday by Todd Steggerda, counsel to the RNC, to Cheatle, builds upon escalating demands by GOP officials to move that planned zone. Those officials believe the current plans would force delegates and others attending to come in close contact with protesters on their way to the site of the convention.

“With less than two months before the Convention and even less time before the USSS finalizes the Plan, it is imperative you take personal and immediate steps to fix this unacceptable flaw in the design of the Security Perimeter,” Steggerda wrote.

"The criticality of the situation demands that you immediately provide the appropriate mandate and delegated authority to your team to adjust the Security Perimeter to alleviate these risks,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service didn’t immediately respond to questions about the letter.

A detailed map of the Secret Service’s security perimeter — the zone around the convention that is off-limits to the general public and requires credentials and screening to access — hasn’t been publicly released. But people familiar with the plans say the space identified as a protest zone, Pere Marquette Park, falls outside it, NBC News reported earlier Thursday.

Citing safety concerns after a man set himself on fire outside former President Donald Trump’s New York trial and a suspicious package was sent to the national committee this week, GOP officials have said they want the Secret Service to expand