Preparing for former President Donald Trump to speak on the South Carolina state fairgrounds this summer required a statewide — and national — effort.
Maps and documents exclusively obtained by Raw Story through a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act request detail how significant a public effort it was.
Local police, fire, public works and emergency management departments, plus state law enforcement and event organizers all coordinated security plans for the South Carolina Republican Party's Silver Elephant Gala in the state’s capital, Columbia, S.C., where Trump — who is leading the 2024 GOP presidential nominating race while facing 91 felony counts — spoke on Aug. 13.
ALSO READ: A convicted January 6 attacker faces prison. So he went to Mar-a-Lago to see Trump first.
The U.S. Secret Service and campaign staff were involved too, said Abby Zilch, communications director for the South Carolina Republican Party.
Local law enforcement mapped out a plan for stationing officers across a 400-yard radius around the fairgrounds — anywhere from horse and cattle arenas to a roost and a barn, and various spaces in between, according to the documents.
The fire department set up three engines, a “Gator” emergency vehicle and a hazardous materials vehicle.
The days before the event required “a really big meeting with all of the agencies that were involved,” Zilch said. The fire chief came by, too, to ensure the event was held in a safe environment with an appropriate capacity.
In short, it was “a whole to-do,” Zilch said.
The Columbia Fire Department prepared a six-page operational plan for the event, planning for the arrival of 2,500 “patriots” — the term used by Columbia’s government — including “numerous GOP political figures and also former President Donald Trump,” the document said.
In actuality, the South Carolina GOP sold about 1,500 tickets because of the venue’s capacity. About 1,350 people attended, Zilch said.
This was the first time Trump attended the gala, which has previously featured former House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former White House spokesperson, Zilch said.
“When he was president, we wanted him to come and speak at the gala, and just scheduling never ended up working out,” Zilch said. “This was our first time him speaking at the Silver Elephant. We try to always keep it fresh and have new people come to the gala each year.”
Trump announced Tuesday that he's heading back to Columbia on Saturday to attend the Palmetto Bowl where Clemson University will play the University of South Carolina for a night football game.
Hosting Trump while indicted
Trump’s legal troubles were prominently discussed during the South Carolina GOP’s event this summer. Trump’s 91 felony charges are spread across four indictments. A separate civil trial in New York threatens to upend his business empire.
“As an attorney, as I mentioned, that first indictment took the cake. I was wondering what they are thinking, and it occurred to me that modern medicine has come a long way, but I don't think anything short of a brain transplant is going to help such prosecutors,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at the event as he introduced Trump.
McMaster continued, “These cases against Donald Trump are losers. It has been said that you can put lipstick on a pig, but I don’t think all the lipstick in the world can turn all these pigs into princesses.”
Trump made numerous exaggerated statements during the speech on Aug. 5, saying that:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin “never in a million years” would have invaded Ukraine if he were president.
- “The Presidential Records Act says I can do whatever I want.”
- President Joe Biden’s economic policy, which the president calls “Bidenomics,” is a “burning wreckage,” and that under Trump, “we actually built the greatest economy in the history of the world.”
“In virtually every poll, we’re kicking Biden’s ass, and that’s the problem. If I wasn’t, we wouldn't be under investigation by deranged Jack Smith,” Trump said, referring to the Department of Justice’s special counsel. “He’s a deranged human being. You take a look at that face, you say that guy is a sick man. There’s something wrong with him.”
Trump is currently leading Biden in five of six swing states, The New York Times reported on Nov. 5.
Coordinating security for a Trump speech
Six members of the Columbia Police Department supported the Aug. 5 event, according to an Aug. 7 email from Columbia Police Sergeant Antonio Green obtained by Raw Story.
The department reported that the event required 121.5 labor-hours costing taxpayers $4,943.53, said Elizabeth Williams, public information officer for the City of Columbia’s Office of the City Attorney.
The South Carolina GOP said it usually requests another eight- to 10 off-duty police officers for such events, for which it pays itself.
“We work with the campaigns for security and in figuring all of that logistics out, and then we also have a great partnership with the City of Columbia, and we loop them in on any of our large scale events, just so everyone's on the same page, so that we can have a successful event but also as safe as possible,” Zilch said. “There was a lot that went into it, a lot of meetings and coordinating Secret Service.”
“It was especially difficult coordinating because the Secret Service had to do the magnetizer so all of our guests had to walk through that, which that was different this year,” Zilch added.
Nine personnel from the City of Columbia Fire Department supported the event, according to the operational plan obtained by Raw Story. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division sent agents to the event, too, Zilch said.
While planning in June for police officer coverage for the event, Green emailed South Carolina GOP Executive Director Hope Walker Rossi, saying, “I was thinking at least 10 because I want the outside and inside covered. Let me know if ten and me makes a 11. 2 man teams in case something goes awry,” according to a June 21 email obtained by Raw Story.
When asked follow-up questions about who paid for the security costs, Williams referred Raw Story to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, whose Freedom of Information Office did not respond to requests for comment.
“In terms of the bodyguards and any campaign, former President Trump's people, that would all be for them. They would have to cover that on their own,” Zilch said.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.
The Secret Service told Raw Story it “does not comment on specific protective means or methods.”
“The Secret Service is in constant coordination with the necessary entities to ensure protective requirements are met,” Melissa McKenzie, a spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service, told Raw Story via email. “During the security advance process, if financial or logistical issues are identified, the Secret Service will make other arrangements.”
McKenzie said the Secret Service could not speak to “mechanisms in place for reimbursement to local law enforcement agencies.”
“The Secret Service does not pay for police overtime associated with protective visits as the Secret Service does not have a mechanism to do so,” McKenzie said. “However, we have the utmost confidence in the professionalism and commitment to security shared by our law enforcement partners. We appreciate their continued professionalism and commitment to security.”
Congress has not appropriated money to the Secret Service for the purpose of reimbursing local law enforcement and emergency services departments for costs related to the visits of presidential candidates such as Trump.
One of Trump’s opponents for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, called on Trump to voluntarily pay law enforcement who protect his presidential campaign events, citing a Raw Story article last month.
Since his 2016 campaign, Trump has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in security bills. Some cities have tried to recoup the costs such as Erie, Pa.. while others just eat the costs: see, Novi, Mich. and Manchester, N.H.
Trump is not legally required to pay for the security costs incurred for his visits, but presidential campaigns ranging from Haley to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders have voluntarily paid for such services in response to invoices or to show their support for the law enforcement who protect campaign events, often in small towns and on short notice.
