As people plan to attend President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the weekend, they should be aware of a new curfew in place.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum issued an executive order on Thursday that requires a curfew to be in place. The curfew began at 10 p.m. on Thursday night and goes until 6 a.m. on Saturday.
Bynum wrote in the executive order, “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.”
The curfew in the area comes as Trump is preparing to hold a re-election campaign rally at the Bank of Oklahoma (BOK) Center on Saturday at 8 p.m. EST. The curfew area affected is a six block radius near the arena.
Following the rally on Saturday, there is a continued curfew until 6 a.m. on Sunday.
See the executive order and map of the area affected by the curfew below:
?CURFEW IN EFFECT FOR DOWNTOWN?
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 19, 2020
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
“If people refuse to leave the area, they may be cited or arrested,” Tulsa Police wrote in a post.
The department added, “This is an unprecedented event for the City of Tulsa and has hundreds of moving parts, we are asking for everyone’s help in making this a safe event for all citizens.”
If people refuse to leave the area, they may be cited or arrested.
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 19, 2020
This is an unprecedented event for the City of Tulsa and has hundreds of moving parts, we are asking for everyone’s help in making this a safe event for all citizens.
The BOK arena, where the rally will be held, asked on Thursday for the Trump campaign to provide “a written plan detailing the steps the event will institute for health and safety, including those related to social distancing.”
In response, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said, “We take safety seriously, which is why we’re doing temperature checks for everyone attending and providing masks and hand sanitizer. This will be a Trump rally, which means a big, boisterous, excited crowd.” Murtaugh said they are reviewing the request, according to CNN.
Tulsa county has the most positive coronavirus cases in the state and the number of new cases continues to climb there.
The BOK center can hold up to 20,000 people, and a local official expects 100,000 people to show up to the arena.
