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City council candidate raises concerns about 2020 RNC

Malcolm Graham, who won the Democratic primary for District 2, said he can see no good in bringing the event to the Queen City.

A city council candidate is raising concerns about the Republican National Convention in Charlotte next year.

Malcolm Graham, who won the Democratic primary for District 2, lost his sister, Cynthia Hurd, in the Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston in June 2015.

"The RNC is coming to Charlotte and there is nothing I can do about it," said Graham.

Graham said he can see no good in bringing the event to the Queen City.

"My sister was killed by a white supremacist, and when I look at Washington, D.C. and the White House, that is what I see. And I don’t want to see that on the corner of Trade and Tryon in my community," Graham said.

Political observers believe there could be clashes between white supremacy groups and Antifa, an anti-fascist group.

"I will be actively protesting peacefully those policies that are coming to Charlotte," said Graham.

Charlotte will be at the center of the political world next year, and President Trump’s daughter-in-law, who is from North Carolina, help convince GOP leaders to pick Charlotte.

"This will be the second convention within an eight-year span of time, and I think it just speaks to how great the city of Charlotte is," Lara Trump said.

Mayor Vi Lyles, who also was nominated for a second term this week. has been a supporter of Charlotte hosting the GOP and she said this week she has not changed her mind.

"We ought to stop talking about the idea of what’s going to be bad and start showing the values that we live," said Lyles.

"Let's celebrate who we are and not let other people define us," she added.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has delayed his retirement until after the GOP convention. He said the city will be secure and protected.

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