Liz Matory ran for Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District in 2018 as the Republican nominee, challenging long-standing incumbent Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger. A former independent candidate turned Republican, Matory was a distinctive presence in Maryland politics: a DC-native Columbia and Howard Law graduate who wrote a self-published book about her political transition titled “Born Again Republican,” and a candidate who explicitly positioned herself as a challenger to the establishment in both parties.
For the campaign’s fundraiser and endorsement event, Matory secured the participation of Sheriff David Clarke, the nationally recognized former Milwaukee County Sheriff and prominent conservative voice whose law-and-order platform had made him one of the most high-profile law enforcement figures in the country. Clarke’s endorsement carried significant weight in Republican circles, and his appearance at the Boumi Temple event in Baltimore was a major campaign moment designed to energize supporters and generate momentum heading into the general election.
Boumi Temple, a historic Shriner’s venue at 5050 King Avenue in Baltimore County founded in 1884, provided the setting: a large, established event space with the scale and character appropriate for a significant campaign gathering. The combination of a politically engaged audience, a nationally known endorsing official, and a high-energy campaign atmosphere created a security profile that required professional armed coverage throughout the event.
Political fundraisers and endorsement events present a security challenge that combines elements of executive protection, event crowd management, and venue security under a politically charged atmosphere. The Boumi Temple event required OPPS to maintain professional armed coverage that protected the principal, the featured endorser, and the gathered supporters without creating an imposing security posture inconsistent with the campaign’s public-facing message.
The specific security requirements of this engagement included:
Throughout the event, from arrival through remarks and the public interactions that follow a campaign appearance
For an invited political audience with the energy and engagement characteristic of a campaign rally environment
Providing visible law enforcement credibility alongside standard armed security coverage
Across the Boumi Temple’s interior spaces and exterior approaches, managing access at an event where gate-crashing and disruption are genuine considerations at politically charged gatherings
On principal movements, speaking schedule, and the VIP interactions that define a fundraiser’s program
Operational Police Protective Services deployed armed off-duty police officers and armed security personnel across the Boumi Temple venue for the full duration of the fundraiser and endorsement event. Coverage was structured across interior event spaces and exterior approaches, providing a layered protective presence from arrival through departure of the principals and final guest exit.
Armed off-duty police officers formed the credentialed layer of the security operation, providing the legal authority and law enforcement standing appropriate to an event featuring a nationally known law enforcement figure. Their presence alongside armed security personnel created a comprehensive coverage structure: close-in protection for the candidate and Sheriff Clarke during the program, managed access at the venue perimeter, crowd awareness throughout the floor, and rapid-response capability throughout the engagement.
OPPS officers maintained complete political neutrality throughout the assignment. The security operation’s job was the safety of the principals and the gathered supporters, executed professionally and without bias regardless of the event’s political content. That standard of professional conduct, consistent across every political engagement OPPS takes on, reflects the discipline our law enforcement and military backgrounds require.
Coordination with campaign staff ensured that principal movements, the speaking program, and post-event donor interactions were all covered within the security plan, with no gap between the structured event and the less-predictable crowd access that follows it.
Delivered across the fundraiser and endorsement program without incident
Maintained by all OPPS personnel throughout the engagement
Proceeded as planned, with security coverage that protected the principals and the gathering without becoming the story
Political events require a security provider that understands two things simultaneously: how to protect high-profile figures effectively and how to operate without making the protection the event’s headline. The Matory campaign chose OPPS because our officers bring both, from careers where armed judgment and professional conduct under public scrutiny were daily requirements.
The deployment of armed off-duty police alongside armed security gave the campaign both law enforcement credibility and the depth of coverage a multi-room fundraiser at a historic venue demands. And the political neutrality that every OPPS officer brings to campaign and political engagements means campaigns from across the spectrum can engage us without concern about who their security team is rooting for.
Security at a political event works when nobody remembers it was there. That is the standard OPPS delivered at Boumi Temple.
Contact Operational Police Protective Services for a confidential security consultation.
