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SALT LAKE CITY — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to hold a political rally at the Infinity Events Center Friday evening.
Salt Lake City police confirmed his campaign had issued a request for a permit to shut down 1000 West originally before moving the rally to the Infinity Events Center. Protesters quickly made arrangements to make sure Trump knows how they feel about him when he arrives.
“We know where we're going to deploy our officers, and we know where we're going to deploy medical, (have) exit routes for the public; and so we have all those plans in place,” said Salt Lake City police detective Cody Lougy. “We're working with the Secret Service, also the Highway Patrol, working together to make this a safe venue.”
Lougy said safety is the No. 1 concern, especially after issues that have happened at previous Trump rallies.
“We're hoping that everybody's peaceful, that it is a peaceful speech or rally, and we're hoping there's no problems,” Lougy said.
“We want to show that there's resistance against Trump's hatred and his violent speech,” said Theresa Neilson, president of University of Utah’s Students for a Democratic Society. “We have about 800 people on our 'going' list.”
Neilson said it will be a peaceful protest, but police said they are prepared for anything — just in case.
“We'll basically adjust our staffing levels to the crowd levels; and so if we're seeing huge crowds, huge levels of protestors, we'll adjust our staffing to make sure and accommodate everybody there and make sure it is a safe environment,” Lougy said.
Protestors are planning to gather on the corner of 900 West and 200 North one hour before the Trump event on Friday. A specific time for that event was not announced Thursday night.
Utah Latinos are also planning to protest Trump on Friday. That event will be held at Salt Lake City's Rivereside Park, 739 N. 1400 West, from 6-11 p.m.
