With Election Day just around the corner, both candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are focusing on doing as many campaigns as possible, but considering that the coronavirus pandemic is still at large, there are a few changes that they need to make. For the sake of an instance, the president's rally was recently moved back to Rochester, citing confusing reports on the number of people allowed to attend it.
Trump's campaign rally was originally slated to take place at Rochester International Airport but had to be moved to a business in Dodge Center, and now ABC 5 Eyewitness News suggests it will again take place at Rochester airport on Friday. Sources claim that the original plan was to hold the rally at the airport, but it was recently shifted to businesses in Dodge Center.
According to the property owner, the Secret Service informed him that the state would not allow the rally at that location citing potential crowd size issues. Other sources informed the outlet that the president's rally scheduled for Friday had been changed again. KSTP-TV Chief Political Reporter Tom Hauser took to his Twitter account to share the update.
DEVELOPING: The Trump rally is apparently moving back to the Rochester airport and limited to less than 250 people. The owner of one of two Dodge Center businesses planning to host the event say they got word from the Secret Service after setting up stands for 6,000 people. pic.twitter.com/p2JsuPmKaM
— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) October 29, 2020
Hauser wrote that the Trumps rally, which was initially scheduled for the airports, has been moved to a Dodge Center property, which is owned by two businesses. He went on to reveal that the Secret Service told the property owners that the state would no longer allow the rally.
In another tweet, Hauser claimed that the rally that was moved to Dodge Center was canceled due to pressure, but no threats, from Attorney General Keith Ellison. He said Ellison spokesman John Stiles told him that the cancelation was the decision Ellison took.
A spokesperson for Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz denied these reports, noting that neither the governor nor the MDH (Minnesota Department of Health) influenced the Trump campaign's decision to move the rally. As a result, the rally will be limited to 250 or even fewer people as opposed to the thousands that were expected at the Dodge Center event.
A Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison spokesperson told KSTP no threats were made. Stiles noted that they never threatened anyone, but Ellison's office asked the business owners to provide their COVID Preparedness Plan, which the state requires, but they never gave it. Moreover, Stiles noted that the office isn't authorized to cancel events.
Stiles attributed Ellison's office decision to inquire about the businesses' COVID Preparedness Plan for the event to a state-wide surge in COVID-19 cases. In his statement, Ellison said it is everyone's responsibility to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.