Voter turnout, safety concerns addressed by Brown County leaders ahead of Trump’s rally
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GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Former President Donald Trump’s rally on Tuesday, April 2, general election day, is expected to draw a major crowd. Both law enforcement and political party leaders have their eyes on it, but for entirely different reasons.
“Anytime that there’s a large scale event, the amount of planning that goes into this event is quite extensive, and we pull in resources from other surrounding agencies or other federal agencies to really make sure that this event will be secure,” Green Bay Police Department Cmdr. Kevin Warych said.
Trump’s rally will be held at the Hyatt Regency at 333 Main St. at 5 p.m. It was announced this past Tuesday, March 26, and Warych says that the Green Bay Police Department did not receive advance notice.
Like the police, the Republican Party of Brown County was only notified “a couple hours” before news of the rally was made public, and it came as a pleasant “surprise” to chairman Doug Reich.
One of the precautions being taken ahead of the rally is vetting any threats, which Warych says the department has not observed any signs of so far.
“We as a department investigate to determine the validity and credibility of those threats and then determine whether our resources and deployment strategies are needed for those threats,” he said.
Local 5 News is aware of planned protests from two liberal workers’ rights groups, We Rise Fighting and Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement. Both did not return a request for comment. The Democratic Party of Brown County is not planning any protests; instead encouraging supporters to focus on the election.
Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island are holding presidential primary elections on Tuesday, April 2, but of those, Wisconsin is the only swing state. Both democrats and republicans know what is at stake, and are imploring their supporters to get their votes in before the rally.
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“We’re excited to have [Trump in Green Bay] and get that national attention on our area,” Republican Party of Brown County chairman Doug Reich said. “I hope it impacts it in a positive way, we’re urging all of our voters to vote first before they come to the rally.”
“It’s no coincidence, the date that was picked, it’s election day in Wisconsin. The time of day that the event is, it’s not about encouraging people to vote,” Democratic Party of Brown County chair Christy Welch said. “On Tuesday we need people to focus on if you haven’t voted yet, if you haven’t taken advantage of early voting, then vote in the morning on your way to work.”
Both leaders are aware of the weight that Brown County’s elections carry, being one of the most significant swing counties in a major swing state.
“It’s a swing state and Brown County is the largest swing county in the state, so I think the day shows [Trump is] trying to have some kind of an impact,” Welch said.
“This draws attention, I think, to how important Wisconsin is right now in the country, and how important Brown County is within a state that’s extremely important to the country,” Reich said.
