Yaël Ossowski on How Tampa's Surveillance State Profited from the Republican National Convention

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In addition to bringing 45,000 delegates, guests, and members of the media to Tampa back in August, this year's Republican National Convention also brought with it a vast network of surveillance cameras, armored trucks with weapons mounting capabilities, and state-of-the-art bulletproof vests strong enough to withstand high-caliber rounds. Yet while most of the convention-goers have long since left Tampa Bay, reports Yaël Ossowski, the millions of dollars in security costs awarded to local police departments have stayed put, engendering a new kind of technological surveillance state never before seen by Florida residents.