Turnout for President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa Saturday was just under 6,200 people, a spokesman for the city’s fire department said. That’s far fewer than the over 19,000-seat capacity at the BOK Center. The Trump campaign blamed “radical protesters” for blocking entrances and causing the cancellation of an earlier outdoor Trump speech, though there was little evidence the 100 or so protesters outside the arena had actually stopped anyone.
Trump at the rally ramped up his criticism of the protests that have broken out after the death of George Floyd on May 25, a day after warning against “protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes” who might plan to converge on Tulsa.
The president called Democrat Joe Biden a “puppet of the radical left.” He referred to “very violent people,” and near the end said: “When you see those lunatics all over the streets, it’s damn nice to have arms.”
Tensions heated up after Trump ended his speech. Police fired projectiles near demonstrators who flooded Tulsa’s streets before backing off.
Earlier, #CancelYale was trending on Twitter as people took to social media to protest against the university’s name, traced back to merchant and slave trader Elihu Yale. Users also pointed out an incident in 2018 when a white student called the police to report a black graduate who was napping in her dorm’s common room.
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