Trump appears to threaten protesters with harsh policing ahead of his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Mia Jankowicz

President Donald Trump tweeted Friday what appears to be a threat of harsh treatment for people who might protest in Oklahoma, where he has a campaign rally planned for the weekend. 

He warned "protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes" that they would find a "much different" scene to New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. 

Those Democratic-controlled cities have brokered a more cooperative stance between protesters and police as Black Lives Matter activism continues — though not without violent clashes.

Trump has repeatedly spoken harshly of protesters at his rallies. At a 2016 rally, he memorably praised authorities who treated protesters "very, very rough."

President Trump has tweeted to protesters and "lowlifes" ahead of hia Saturday rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, promising "a much different scene" to other hotspots of protest like New York, Seattle or Minneapolis.

"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!" he wrote.
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020

The tweet, though vague, appeared to be a threat of harsher policing than has been seen in those cities.

Trump has previously referred to himself as an "ally of peaceful protesters" in response to the protests at George Floyd's death. However, in the tweet he appeared to conflate protest — which is protected under the First Amendment — with looting and rioting.

Mayors in the cities he tweeted about have recently attempted to rein in their police forces and work cooperatively with protesters, although not after earlier violent clashes.

After tear gas was used in Seattle over the weekend of June 6, police have abandoned attempts to move protesters from the self-described "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone," a largely peaceful protest camp.

Seattle's Democratic mayor Jenny Durkan has defended the camp, in opposition to Trump's characterization of them as "terrorists" and his threats to send the military in to clear it.

New York and Minneapolis, both in Democratic-controlled states, have also taken measures to de-escalate encounters between police and protesters.

On Friday, New York's City Council approved a suite of police reforms, Politico reported. On June 8, Minneapolis' city council pledged to dismantle its police department.

Trump's tweet came on Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the freeing of Black slaves in the US.

Trump's rally — his first within the coronavirus pandemic — had originally been planned for Juneteenth but was moved back one day after widespread criticism.

The president has repeatedly romanticized harsh treatment of protesters, specifically at his rallies. During an appearance, also in Oklahoma, in 2016, Trump riffed on "the good old days" when authorities would treat protesters "very, very rough."


To cheers from the crowd, Trump noted that in the past "when they protested once, you know, they would not do it again so easily."