This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
On the eve of his highly anticipated return to the campaign trail, President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to protesters planning to gather outside his Tulsa rally: they would not be treated gently.
Writing on Twitter, Trump lumped together 'protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes' and said they would face a different scene than what they were used to in cities like New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis.
His message, which came as the nation marked the 155th anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the US, drew a rebuke from Twitter for its tone and content.
Trump's threat was a turnabout from his earlier declaration that he is an 'ally of all peaceful protesters,' and it highlighted the tense atmosphere surrounding his return to the campaign trail after a 110-day pandemic-forced absence.
On Friday morning, Trump wrote, 'Please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!'
—Source: CNN, June 19, 2020
