RICHMOND, Va. – Presidential candidate Donald Trump will be in Richmond for a rally on Friday, and already people have expressed concern over possible violence.
For months, headlines have followed Trump rallies with reports of violence and reactionary outbursts.
When the presumptive Republican nominee was last here in October, there was some disruption and a few people were escorted. There was no violence.
But throughout the months since then, reports of violence have grown – coming from supporters and demonstrators.
At a recent rally in San Jose, Trump supporters were attacked by protesters.
A secret service representative can’t comment on specific security methods but said they are working with local, state and federal law enforcement to develop a plan to handle crowds.
The Virginia chairman of Trump’s campaign, Corey Stewart, said those attending the rally here Friday will be safe and he doesn’t expect any sort of violence.
He also said he believes the rioters in San Jose were paid and that Virginians won’t tolerate that kind of behavior here.
Several Richmonders said no matter what a person’s political views are there is no need for violence.
“I hope that people are able to express their views and get together and talk about what they think without violence and be able to agree and disagree and listen to what's said,” said Jill Tarr, who doesn’t plan to attend the rally.
The event will also be held on the same day as high school graduations at the Siegel Center, as well as the Tim McGraw concert at the Altria Theater. All the events could create a more congested than usual environment downtown for the large crowd Trump is expected to draw.
