Tensions rise between Trump supporters, protesters ahead of Tulsa rally

President Trump’s first campaign rally since March is slated for Saturday evening in Tulsa, Okla., and tensions are rising between protest crowds and supporters of the president ahead of the event.

Current estimates suggest 100,000 or more people may enter downtown Tulsa on Saturday, with expectations that some of them will be anti-Trump protesters, according to the Tulsa World.

Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who has accompanied Trump this week in Washington to offer status reports about the state’s handling of COVID-19, extended a welcome to dissenters.

“If you’re a peaceful protester, we welcome your voice to be heard in Tulsa,” Stitt said at a press conference Friday afternoon.

A fence has been put up around the BOK Center, where Trump’s rally is set to take place Saturday evening.

Following a discussion with Trump, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum (R) agreed to toss a proposed curfew that was initiated Thursday night.

Trump tweeted that Bynum agreed not to impose the curfew on “our many supporters. … Enjoy yourselves.”

I just spoke to the highly respected Mayor of Tulsa, G.T. Bynum, who informed me there will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow for our many supporters attending the #MAGA Rally. Enjoy yourselves – thank you to Mayor Bynum! @gtbynum

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020

Still, some worry that Trump’s presence in Tulsa over the weekend of Juneteenth was a tone-deaf choice by the president, spearheading his rally season with an event held near the grounds of historical racial injustices that occurred 99 years ago on Black Wall Street.

Others are concerned about the public health message the president is sending to the nation with regard to COVID-19 and mass gatherings after Tulsa County Health Department Director Bruce Dart said Tulsa has recently seen a “significant increase in our case trends,” Tulsa World reported.

State health officials reported on Saturday 225 new cases of COVID-19, marking a daily high in increases for Tulsa County.

Health department data reveals Tulsa County’s seven-day rolling average for COVID-19 cases has increased from 24.9 cases on June 7 to 51.4 as of Friday.

On Saturday, a truck displaying digital real-time imagery of the Trump Death Clock rolled into downtown Tulsa. The clock that allegedly estimates the number of Americans who have died needlessly from COVID-19, The Guardian reported.