Republicans chanted 'lock her up' at the RNC, but what do delegates really think?

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Republicans at the RNC weigh in on 'lock her up' chant
Republicans at the RNC weigh in on 'lock her up' chant

BY: WILLIAM STEAKIN

Throughout the Republican National Convention the atmosphere seemed to fluctuate between celebration and hostility.

Republican delegates from across the country packed the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland for four straight nights. The largely red, white, and blue clad crowd could be seen dancing in the isles as the in house band played one moment and calling for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to be locked up in the next.

However, Republicans in Cleveland seem divided on fully embracing the more antagonistic forms of politics that have emerged during the 2016 campaign, with some GOPers claiming it could be detrimental to their cause in the general election.

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"It's not the sort of thing that's going to convince unaffiliated voters to vote for our ticket," said Colorado delegate Dan Green. Speaking with AOL News, Green described his disappointment with the convention, calling it a "missed opportunity."

"We had a chance here to talk about a conservative philosophy of government and we missed it." Instead, Green said, the convention was filled with "a lot of anti-Hillary screed."

When asked about Trump's veteran affairs adviser Al Baldasaro's recent comments that Clinton should be "shot for treason," Green called the statement "awful."

"I don't think it respects our values as a party," Green continued. "It's not what we are about. That's the Trump campaign speaking and that's emblematic of the bullying that they've engaged in from the beginning of their campaign.

"Trump is just dividing us. He is destroying the party, and I'll never vote for him for that reason."

However, even presidential nominee Donald Trump seemed to distance himself from the controversial refrain, offering up to the chorus of "lock her up" chants that erupted in the Quicken Loans Arena during his speech an alternative direction to focus their enthusiasm; "let's defeat her," said Trump.

For other Republicans the debate over whether or not Clinton should be arrested is a bit more complicated than the "lock her up" catch phrase may imply.

RNC attendee and United States Marine Corps veteran Laura Licata explained that before hearing FBI Director James Comey's ruling, which suggested Clinton not be prosecuted for her email servers, she believed Clinton should "absolutely be thrown in prison."

But following Comey's statement Licata accepted the director's opinion while also acknowledging that, "different laws and statutes need to be rewritten so that people that can hide behind their relationships can be arrested."

Mike Lachs, with the New Jersey delegation, wearing a "Hillary for prison" button along with an large elephant headdress in support of the GOP, said that Clinton "definitely committed a crime," however Lachs stated "it's not my job to decide, I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a judge," when he was pushed on if Clinton should actually face jail time.

Another RNC visitor named Curt Braden, a local Ohioan, feels Clinton "isn't innocent of anything," yet downplayed the calls for her imprisonment, claiming the chants were just "kind of the choice expression for the rally of the point right now."

When asked about Baldasaro's call for Clinton to be shot for treason, Braden said "I think once the case is adjudicated than a jury of her peers will make the decision on exactly what will take place.

"That's why we're here. It's Democracy."

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