Trump warns potential Tulsa protesters ahead of Saturday rally

Tribune Content Agency

President Donald Trump warned people planning to protest his Saturday rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, suggesting that local authorities would treat them more harshly than major U.S. cities that have recently experienced police brutality demonstrations.

“Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis,” Trump said in a tweet. “It will be a much different scene!”

Trump’s campaign and Tulsa officials expect more than 100,000 of his supporters to pour into the town for the rally, which will likely be the largest indoor gathering of Americans since the coronavirus pandemic led to a national lockdown in March.

The city imposed daily curfews around the BOK Arena, the site of the rally, beginning Thursday. Police told the mayor, G.T. Bynum, that “individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive or violent behavior in other states are planning to travel to the City of Tulsa for purposes of causing unrest in and around the rally,” according to an executive order he issued that was reported by the Tulsa World.

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