Donald Trump appears to threaten protesters who turn up to his Tulsa rally

19 June 2020, 23:46

Donald Trump has threatened protesters who turn up to his rally in Tulsa with a "much different scene" than other cities which have seen demonstrations.

He tweeted: "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. It will be a much different scene!"

Although vague, the references to those cities - which have seen heavy handed tactics used by police and security forces - seems to imply police will be responding more harshly.

The rally in Tulsa will be Trump's first large-scale event since March, and is widely believed to mark Trump's return to the Presidential election campaign ahead.

Local authorities are expecting protesters to attend the event, and earlier ordered a curfew on the area in an attempt to avoid any clashes.

However, the curfew was later rescinded.

It potentially posed a challenge to attendees of Trump's rally, many oh whom have been queuing for days to be in the audience.

A statement on the city's website says the US Secret Service had asked for the curfew near the BOK Centre, where President Trump is to hold the rally on Saturday night, then on Friday asked that the curfew be lifted.

"I enacted a curfew at the request of Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, following consultation with the United States Secret Service based on intelligence they had received," Republican Mayor GT Bynum said in a statement.

He added: "Today, we were told the curfew is no longer necessary so I am rescinding it."

It also comes after Trump came under worldwide condemnation for using tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park so he could walk to a nearby church for a photo shoot.

Despite Trump's insistence he is the "law and order President", many cities in the US have descended into riots and mass protests in the past month.

Protests have raged in the US and spilled into the wider world following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on is neck in Minneapolis.

Recent polls have revealed huge numbers of Americans disagree with his handling of the protests, and a recent one ran by Fox estimates more than 60 per cent disagree with his handling of the situation.

He has also been accused of fanning the flames of racial tensions in the US, with Twitter even censoring one of his tweets as it "glorified violence".

He also threatened to deploy the US military into states which do not quell the unrest within their borders, but was ultimately forced to back down after his own Defence Secretary Mark Esper refused to comply with Trump's wishes and said US military being deployed should only be used as a "last resort".

He added: "We are not in one of those situations now."

In a previous Twitter rant, Trump threatened protesters with "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons".

He also said that the Secret Service had put the "young ones" on the frontline, because they "love it and its good practice".