Republican Tulsa Mayor George T. Bynum declared a civil emergency Thursday and imposed a limited curfew as supporters of President Donald Trump gather for their first rally in months.
Bynum suggested that the city could expect civil unrest both inside and in the areas surrounding the rally with huge crowds on hand for the Saturday event, as well as anti-Trump demonstrations. The curfew will be imposed upon a six-block radius of the arena where the supporters will congregate.
President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally on March 2, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trump was campaigning ahead of Super Tuesday. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
Tulsa informed the public of the restrictions via Twitter and said they were “working on making the area secure for everyone’s safety.”
????CURFEW IN EFFECT FOR DOWNTOWN????
As part of our preparations for President Trump’s Rally this Saturday, we are working on making the area secure for everyone’s safety.
As posted earlier, the area illustrated in this map will need to be free of vehicles and pedestrian traffic. pic.twitter.com/uT76N0IWRc
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 19, 2020
“I have received information from the Tulsa Police Department and other law enforcement agencies that shows that individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behavior in other States are planning to travel to the city of Tulsa for purposes of causing unrest in and around the rally,” Bynum wrote in an executive order attached to the police department’s tweet. (RELATED: Pence Says Trump Campaign May Move Rally To Different Venue In Tulsa Amid Coronavirus Concerns)
The Daily Caller has reached out to the mayor’s office for clarification of his concerns and is awaiting a response.
Trump moved the date of the rally from Friday, June 19 to Saturday because of the Juneteenth holiday that commemorates those slaves freed in Texas following the final surrender of hold-out Confederate forces to the Union Army.
Health officials have also been nervous about the potential for the event to exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus in the city. An attempt to sue the Trump campaign to force organizers to impose strict social distancing measures was unsuccessful. (RELATED: ‘Of Course Not’: Fauci Says He Would Not Attend Trump Rally Over Coronavirus Fears)
President Donald Trump appears at a rally on the eve before the South Carolina primary on February 28, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The rally venue is the BOK Center, which has a capacity for 20,000 people, but at least 100,000 are expected to attend, according to Fox News. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale has indicated that those attending the rally will have their temperatures taken and receive hand sanitizer and a mask upon admittance.
Parscale said that more than one million Trump supporters have applied to attend the rally.
Over 1M ticket requests for the @realDonaldTrump #MAGA Rally in Tulsa on Saturday.
Before entering each guest will get:
✅Temperature check
✅Hand sanitizer
✅MaskThere will be precautions for the heat and bottled water as well.
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 15, 2020