Following another apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend, officials in Nassau County, N.Y., say they are taking extra safety precautions ahead of a scheduled rally this Wednesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • Officials in Nassau County, N.Y., say they are taking extra safety precautions ahead of a scheduled rally for former President Donald Trump on Wednesday

  • Trump was the subject of a second failed assassination attempt over the weekend

  • Nassau County Police Commissioner said the Trump rally will be the safest place in the country on Wednesday

  • The county's executive is deploying canines, SWAT teams, aviation units and other safety resources 

“This will be the safest place in the country on Wednesday,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Monday during a press briefing about safety preparations for the Trump rally at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum this week. 

Ryder said everyone attending the event will have to go through one entry point. He added that Nassau Coliseum will be completely locked down the night before, including its parking lot.

“Nobody will be in the Coliseum. We do a complete sweep that night,” he said. “We do a complete sweep again in the morning.”

While the U.S. Secret Service is in control of security for the Trump rally, Nassau County officials are coordinating with the federal agency and state police to sure make sure the event is secure outside the event space.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the area is used to hosting big events, including the presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, held at nearby Hofstra University, and the Cricket World Cup earlier this summer, which took place in Eisenhower Park just down the road from the arena.

This weekend, Nassau County will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; he will also address a crowd at Nassau Coliseum, expected to number in the tens of thousands. A couple days earlier, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also in town, Blakeman noted.

“We regularly have international figures that come to Nassau County,” Executive Bruce Blakeman said. “This is nothing new. Our police department and all of our other agencies are prepared, and we’re ready.”

Blakeman said the county has sworn in 200 new police officers in the past three years.

For Wednesday’s Trump rally, Nassau County police will provide its local SWAT team and fully staff its intelligence center. 

“Our special investigation squad will be working with our state and federal partners to gather intelligence and disseminate that intelligence to all needed agencies,” he said, adding that the county will also deploy volunteer firefighters, emergency medical techs, aviation monitors, horse-mounted units, canines, highway patrol and other safety personnel.

“We feel very confident that we will have the assets necessary to make sure that this is safe for everyone. We have the resources. This isn’t our first rodeo. We feel very confident,” Blakeman said. 

“This is something we would provide as a service to anybody, whether it be a Republican, a Democrat or an independent candidate,” he added. “We provide the same level of security and support and safety for everybody.”