Fact check: Jon Stewart's claim that Marcus Center got moved to RNC's security 'hard zone' is False

Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

July 18, 2024 at 2:44 AM·4 min read

Comedian and late-night show host Jon Stewart was set to bring his popular program, “The Daily Show,” to Milwaukee this week during the 2024 Republican National Convention.

That plan changed when former President Donald Trump, this year’s Republican nominee for president, was shot in the ear at a July 13, 2024 rally in Pennsylvania in an attempted assassination. The next day, “The Daily Show'' sent emails to ticketholders letting them know the show was off “due to logistical issues and the evolving situation in Milwaukee.”

Stewart opened his July 16, 2024 show by explaining to viewers why he wasn’t in Milwaukee as planned.

A live show of "The Daily Show" set to be hosted at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention was canceled after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania over the weekend.

Because of the attempt on Trump’s life, Stewart said, the Marcus Performing Arts Center – where they were supposed to host the show – “was originally located in the ‘soft perimeter,’ they called it, security-wise” but “was shifted, understandably so, to the ‘hard perimeter.’”

“You really don’t want to be in the ‘hard perimeter,’” he joked afterward, adding that because of the security measures around the theater, his team felt they couldn’t put on their shows effectively.

But his explanation of those perimeters wasn’t quite right. The boundaries of the perimeter did not change following the assassination attempt, and the Marcus Center isn’t in the hard security zone.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Marcus Center isn’t in the credential-only security ‘hard zone’

So, where exactly is the “hard zone,” known as such because it requires credentials to enter?

It surrounds Fiserv Forum, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Baird Center, the main spaces where the convention will take place. It stretches from West McKinley Avenue on the north to just past West Wisconsin Avenue to the south, encompasses Pere Marquette Park on the east side and stretches past North Lovell Street on the west.

A wider security footprint, which pedestrians can enter freely but vehicles must enter through a security checkpoint, stretches from the Milwaukee River past North 9th Street and from West Clybourn Street to West Cherry Street.

The Marcus Performing Arts Center pictured Wednesday, July 17, 2024, located at 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee.

The Marcus Center is located on North Water Street, on the other side of the Milwaukee River. Its box office is open by phone only during the week, and ticketing windows are closed, communications and media relations manager Jennifer Han told the Journal Sentinel. Its parking structure is open for parking during the RNC, but is only accessible from Water Street or Edison Street due to a security checkpoint on State Street.

But although it made some adjustments to accommodate for security, Han confirmed Wednesday that the Marcus Center is not within the security perimeter of the convention.

The U.S. Secret Service on released a map of the security zones for the Republican National Convention during a meeting on Friday, June 21, 2024, in downtown Milwaukee. The convention will be centered at Fiserv Forum, UWM Panther Arena and the Baird Center on July 15-18.

Although Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said July 15, 2024 that the agency had “strengthened” its security plan for the convention following the attempt on Trump’s life, no specific changes to the security zone were announced.

Han did say that at the time “The Daily Show” decided to cancel, “there were still questions” about whether the security perimeter would be shifting due to the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania. So at that time, Stewart and his team might not have known whether their chosen venue would become off-limits to members of the public who bought tickets to the show.

But at the time he was airing his reasons Tuesday night for canceling his Milwaukee trip, there were no changes to the security zone – making his statement off-base.

Our ruling

Stewart claimed that the Marcus Performing Arts Center, where his team was set to tape episodes of “The Daily Show” during the RNC, was originally located in the “soft” security perimeter but “was shifted, understandably so, to the ‘hard perimeter.’”

Though there were questions at the time “The Daily Show” pulled out of the trip to Milwaukee about whether the security perimeter would change, it did not ultimately change. The Marcus Center was not and still is not inside the “hard perimeter” as Stewart claimed.

We rate this claim False.