President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images
AsDonald Trumpawaits a Manhattan grand jury’s vote onwhether to indict himover an alleged hush money payment made to adult film starStormy Danielsin 2016, he will host his first 2024 presidential campaign rally in a town with a now-notorious past: Waco, Texas.
Some have speculated the former president views Waco as a symbol for government persecution, particularly as the rally takes place during the 30th anniversary of one of thedeadliest law enforcement altercationsin American history — one that far-right groups are known to reference.
Trump’s campaign, however, says the location of the rally was chosen only due to its proximity to Texas' large metropolitan areas.
The statement continued: “This is the ideal location to have as many supporters from across the state and in neighboring states attend this historic rally. It also happens to be the home to the Baylor Bears, one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in America.”
The rally comes exactly 30 years after members of the Branch Davidians, a religious group under the leadership of self-proclaimed prophet David Koresh, clashed with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the cult’s Mount Carmel Center compound outside Waco, Texas.
A gun battle on Feb. 28, 1993, led to a 51-day siege that ended when an inferno erupted at the 77-acre property. In total, four federal agents were killed along with more than 80 Branch Davidians, including 25 children and Koresh.
AsThe New YorkTimesreports, some Trump supporters believe the Waco rally is no coincidence, with one Tennessee woman who plans to travel to the rally telling the outlet: “Waco was an overreach of the government, and today the New York district attorney is practicing an overreach of the government again.”
The Timesnotes that the Waco siege is a common topic among right-wing extremists, and has “remained a cause for contemporary far-right groups like theOath Keepersand theProud Boys.”
Trump has in the past been criticized for hisrefusal to denounce white supremacistsand his referencing of the Proud Boys, a far-right fringe group associated with violence.
Trump’s rally comes days after posted on social media thathe expected to be arrestedin the Stormy Daniels case, urging his supporters to protest if that happens and “take our nation back.”
Trump claimed he would be arrested Tuesday, though the grand jury in the case ultimately didn’t meet this week. Still, Trump has remained critical of the investigation, taking to Truth Social this weekto warn of “death & destruction"if he is indicted.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Trump’s legal issues in New York stem from an allegedsexual encounter he had with Danielsin 2006.
In 2018, theWall Street Journalreported thathe’d arranged a $130,000 paymentto the ex-porn star a month before the 2016 election so she’d keep quiet about it. Trump and his longtime (now former) attorney Michael Cohen initially denied the claims of an affair, though Cohen later admitted that there was a payment made to the porn star.
Trump has since admitted he authorized a $130,000 payment to Cohen, but has continued to deny the underlying claims that the two had an affair or that the payment was in any way connected to his campaign.
source: people.com
