Donald Trump Tulsa rally goes ahead despite six staffers testing positive for COVID-19

Clashes have continued on the streets outside Donald Trump’s first campaign rally in months, with pepper balls being fired.

Donald Trump’s supporters have faced off with protesters shouting “Black Lives Matter” in Tulsa as the US President held his first campaign rally in months amid public health concerns about the coronavirus and fears that the event could lead to violence in the wake of killings of black people by police.

Tensions appear to be continuing on the streets outside the venue, where protesters have clashed with police and there are reports pepper balls have been fired.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center.

Earlier Trump supporters filled the streets around the Tulsa’s 19,000-seat BOK Center, where the the president held his first rally in months, despite warnings from health officials about the coronavirus and the possibility of violence.

“You are warriors, thank you,” Trump said as he took the stage, thanking supporters for turning up in numbers despite being told not to come by the “negative” media.

“We had some very people outside, they were doing very bad things,” he said of Black Lives Matter protesters outside the venue.

“I stand before you to declare the silent majority is stronger than ever before.

“Five months from now we are going to defeat sleepy Joe Biden … we are going to defeat the radical left.

“We are the party of Abraham Lincoln and we are the party of law and order.”

A police officer aims a pepper gun towards the crowd where Trump supporters and anti-Trump protestors now roam together in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Turnout at the rally appeared to be lower than expected, with a large swath of standing room on the stadium floor and empty seats in the balconies. Trump had been scheduled to appear a rally outside of the stadium within a perimetre of tall metal barriers, but that event was abruptly cancelled. Trump campaign officials said protesters prevented the president’s supporters from entering the stadium. Three Associated Press journalists reporting in Tulsa for several hours leading up to the president’s speaking did not see protesters block entry to the area where the rally was held.

While Trump spoke onstage, hundreds of protesters marched outside the arena. Some in the multiracial group wore Black Lives Matter shirts, others sported rainbow-colored armbands, and many covered their mouths and noses with masks. At one point, several people stopped to dance to Gospel singer Kirk Franklin’s song “Revolution.” The protesters blocked traffic in at least one intersection.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Tulsa International Airport en route to Washington, after speaking at a campaign rally.

Trump used his campaign address to list his achievements in office, including energy prices, jobs and handling what he called the “China virus”.

“It looked like we were in big trouble but I got it back together,” he said of the pandemic.

“I called Russia I called Saudia Arabia, believe it or not I even called Mexico and we got our energy prices back up.”

The rally was expected to be the biggest indoor event the country has seen since restrictions to prevent the COVID-19 virus began in March.

.@ryanobles confirms that President Trump and VP Pence will no longer speak at the “Outdoor Experience.” As of right now there are only a few dozen people there. https://t.co/CD6oQPypTG

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) June 20, 2020

Many of the president’s supporters weren’t wearing masks, despite the recommendation of public health officials to keep the coronavirus from spreading. Some had been camped near the venue since early in the week.

A supporter wears a "It's OK to be White" shirt as he listens to US President Donald Trump speak during the rally.

There were fears the politically charged atmosphere could lead to outbreaks of violence, with Trump himself warning “agitators, looters” and “lowlifes” would be death with.

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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020

“Today we’re here to show we support President Trump and that we, the people, we’ll win the 2020 election, no matter what the fake news media and other liberal, leftist, mind-controlling big firms are saying,” said attendee Brad, who declined to provide his last name.

Kieran Mullen, 60, a college professor from Norman, Oklahoma, held a sign that read, “Black Lives Matter” and “Dump Trump.” “I just thought it was important for people to see there are Oklahomans that have a different point of view,” Mullen said of his state, which overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016.

Supporters cheer as they attend a campaign rally at the BOK Center.

The rally has been controversial not just because of the virus risk. Originally it was scheduled for Friday — the Juneteenth commemoration of the end of slavery in the US — in a city known for one of the deadliest-ever massacres of African Americans.

Racial tensions have roiled the nation following the police killing of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis.

The announcement that six Trump staffers had tested positive to coronavirus just hours before the rally was likely to further fuel concerns that the event, Trump’s first since the pandemic brought a halt to major on-the-ground political campaigning, could be a “super-spreader” as the coronavirus proves resilient in several states and cities including Tulsa.

Police officers march towards the crowd where Trump supporters and anti-Trump protestors have been facing off.

“Per safety protocols, campaign staff are tested for COVID-19 before events,” Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.

“Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented,” Murtaugh said.

“No COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today’s rally or near attendees and elected officials.”

Vice President Mike Pence takes to the stage at the rally.

According to the campaign, all rally attendees are being given temperature checks, face masks and hand sanitiser.

Some Trump officials have said use of masks is requested but not mandatory, and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she will not wear a mask at the rally.

A member of the Oklahoma National Guard watches as people gather for Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally. Picture: Getty Images

Critics, including Tulsa city officials, have expressed concern that the event contravenes several guidelines that the US government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued about large indoor venues, social distancing and mask use.

With Agencies