Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum is cracking down in anticipation of protests of Donald Trump’s first campaign rally in months. Bynum imposed a curfew for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights because law enforcement told him “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.”
So … Trump-supporting Boogaloo Boys? They’re the ones who’ve been shooting law enforcement officers and traveling to protests with Molotov cocktails. And in fact, Bynum's order does mention Molotov cocktails—but it also links protests “planned in response to the rally” and general “civil unrest” in Tulsa and throughout the United States. Trump himself definitely anticipates Bynum to brutalize anyone protesting his rally, tweeting “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!”
The Washington Post reports a hilarious subplot to the curfew, noting that “It’s unclear whether the Trump supporters who have camped out for days to secure a prime spot to see the president on Saturday will be cleared out as well, but some videos posted on social media appeared to show people leaving the area carrying tents and lawn chairs.”
The much less hilarious aspect of the rally can be seen in the Oklahoman headline "New COVID-19 cases blow past previous record, hospitalizations rise.” The Trump campaign plans to make masks and hand sanitizer available, but won’t require their use, and social distancing will definitely not be a thing.
All this for a rally in a state Trump will win easily in a city where Black residents are trying to celebrate Juneteenth on the 99th anniversary of a major race massacre. And here’s Trump cheering for police to attack anyone who protests his KKK-lite rally.