President Donald Trump greeted a massive crowd of supporters who were prevented from attending his rally in Rochester, Minnesota, Friday night because of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
The Liberal Democrat Governor of Minnesota tried to shut us down by only allowing 250 inside President @realDonaldTrump’s peaceful protest, but Gov FAILED.
MINNESOTA showed up for President Trump OUTSIDE his rally‼️ pic.twitter.com/5PAMPuopqA
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) October 30, 2020
The rally initially was moved to the outdoor property of two Dodge Center businesses after Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office asked the RNC for a “COVID preparedness plan.”
Ellison then asked the Trump campaign and the owners of McNeilus Steel, one of the two businesses planning to host the rally, for their “COVID preparedness plan.” The event was moved a second time back to the Rochester airport and only 250 people were allowed inside the venue.
“Without question, Minnesota Democrats had hoped that the president would simply cancel the event, but he will not allow partisan politicians to deprive people of their First Amendment rights to gather peacefully to hear directly from the President of the United States,” the Trump campaign said in a statement ahead of the rally.
Before delivering his speech, the president hopped in “the Beast,” the nickname for his presidential limousine, and was escorted to greet the overflow crowd that had gathered nearby.
Your far-left Dem Attorney General, and your Dem Governor tried to shut down our rally, silence the people of Minnesota, and take away your freedom of assembly. They thought we would cancel – but I said NO WAY, I will NEVER abandon the people of Minnesota! pic.twitter.com/wF1uolGlf6
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2020
“The governor wants to play games. He’s a weak governor, he’s done a terrible job. He doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. You’ve got thousands of people that are injured by this,” Trump told reporters before his speech.
“It’s a shame what the governor did and that’s why they’re going to lose Minnesota,” he said. “This should be a lesson. He wants to silence people. This should be a lesson. The governor doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
President @realDonaldTrump deplaned in #Minnesota and got into the Beast, drove down the tarmac, and addressed the overflow crowd! pic.twitter.com/dYcNQDzSrf
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 30, 2020
Trump tore into Gov. Walz and Attorney General Ellison during his speech for attempting to “shut down our rally, silence the people of Minnesota, and take away your freedom and your rights”
“When large numbers of rioters and vandals sacked the city of Minneapolis earlier this year, Keith Ellison did not ask them to submit a permit. He told the throngs of violent demonstrators, ‘by all means, exercise your First Amendment rights,’” said Trump, who claimed that up to 25,000 people wanted to attend the rally.
“Keith Ellison sided with flag-burning extremists over law-abiding Americans. He treats you like second-class citizens,” Trump continued. “He believes that the pro-American voters have fewer rights than anti-American demonstrators. Keith Ellison and Joe Biden want to imprison you in your homes while letting anarchists, agitators and vandals roam free as they destroy your cities and states.”
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Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
