NEW YORK — Trump rally in the news again. Law enforcement officials on Long Island rushed rapidly on Wednesday to remove social media posts erroneously stating that bombs had been discovered in a car near former President Donald Trump’s planned event in New York.
The fake claims of an explosive began spreading hours before the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign event at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, just days after he was reportedly the victim of a second attempted assassination.
Nassau County officers Commissioner Patrick Ryder stated that officers questioned and detained someone who “may have been training a bomb detection dog” near the demonstration venue and “falsely reported explosives being found.”
False Reports Of Explosives Found In A Car Near A Trump Rally Spread Online
Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a county police spokeswoman, stated in follow-up messages that the person, who has yet to be named, was a citizen, not a member of a law enforcement organization.
He also stated that the individual was not employed by or involved with the event, which is expected to attract thousands of Trump fans to the arena that was once home to the NHL’s New York Islanders.
The rally is Trump’s first in Long Island, a suburban area immediately east of New York City, since 2017.
In 2020, President Joe Biden defeated Trump by nearly 4% on Long Island, beating him in Nassau County by about 60,000 votes, despite Trump winning neighboring Suffolk County by more than 200 votes.
Skrynecki and other county officials reacted quickly Wednesday to debunk the online queue claims, which appear to have begun with a post by a reporter citing unnamed sources in the local police department.
False Reports Of Explosives Found In A Car Near A Trump Rally Spread Online
The statements were subsequently widely reposted on X, formerly Twitter, by several famous accounts, including the company’s owner, Elon Musk, who has roughly 200 million followers. X spokespeople did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
“False,” Skrynecki texted the Associated Press as the rumours spread.
“No. Ridiculous. “There is no validity,” stated Christopher Boyle, spokeswoman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
SOURCE | AP
