Former FBI agent to lead Minnesota convention security
A retired FBI agent will lead state security planning efforts for the 2008 Republican National Convention, which will take place in the Twin Cities that September.Deborah Pierce, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, was named to the position Friday by state Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion.
Tens of thousands of Republicans, reporters and protesters are expected to congregate in Minnesota during the convention, where the main order of business is nominating a GOP presidential candidate.
“We will do everything possible to make sure this global event reflects well on Minnesota,” Pierce said.
Campion said he wanted to find a coordinator familiar with Minnesota law enforcement agencies and who has counterterrorism experience.
Pierce spent three years in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office and has also worked in Cleveland and Washington, D.C. When she retired in 2006, she was deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigation Division.
© 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
