Showdown in Tulsa

June 19, 2020 (EIRNS)—On Thursday, Tulsa, Oklahoma Mayor G.T. Bynum issued an executive order, establishing a curfew around the BOK Center from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 A.M., to extend from Thursday through Sunday. “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,” Bynum said.

On Thursday night, the Tulsa police initiated enforcement of the curfew, by clearing out of the area Trump supporters who had planned to camp out until Saturday’s rally.

Trump tweeted on Friday morning: “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!”

On Friday afternoon, Trump spoke with Mayor Bynum, securing the elimination of the curfew for Friday and Saturday nights, so as to accommodate his supporters. Bynum said in a statement that he had originally consulted with the Secret Service and acted based upon their intelligence and at the request of his Police Chief Wendell Franklin. However, now the Secret Service requested that he lift the curfew.