CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Preparations are in the work to ensure security is at its peak during former President Donald Trump's visit this weekend.
Nueces County Sheriff J.C. Hooper said there are members of many local law enforcement agencies preparing security for Saturday's 'Save America' Trump rally at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds.
Hooper said to think of security at the rally like you would boarding a plane at the airport.
"If you get up to one of the metal detectors at one of the checkpoints leading into the event and you have a pocket knife on you, you're going to have to forfeit that pocket knife if you want to go inside, or you're going to have to turn around and walk all the way back to your car to secure that pocket knife," he said.
The SAXET Trade Show also is scheduled for Saturday at the fairgrounds, but Hooper doesn't expect that to be a problem.
"There have been numerous other Trump rallies that coexisted with other massive events," he said. "And the gun show, it usually draws 1,000, maybe 2,000 people. So the only conflict that we see might be the parking."
While officials believe there should be more than enough parking to accommodate both events. Hooper said they're expecting 15,000-20,000 people to attend the rally, which could cause traffic headaches.
"There's only so many ways to get to it," he said. "And we do have the major highway running next to the fairgrounds, Highway 77. They are predicting a massive turnout with this event, with people coming from The Valley and also from up north. So we can expect, in all reality, some traffic congestion."
Hooper adds that there will be plenty of law enforcement directing traffic to and from the rally.
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