In the opening of his speech to thousands of rally attendees in Atlanta Saturday evening, former President Donald Trump took aim at Georgia State University, where he was speaking, for allegedly blocking “thousands of people” from the venue, resulting, he said, in 500 or 600 empty places. The claim could not be immediately verified.
“The school administration stopped us from getting another 500, 600 even a thousand people in,” Trump told his enthusiastic supporters Saturday. “Thousands of people were told no. And that was OK, but we could have fit another 600 people.”
“If they’re going to stand in the way of admitting people to our rally, just imagine what they’re going to do on election day,” he added. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
At the beginning of the event before the speech, rally organizers told reporters that “campus administrators took it upon themselves to not only shut the building down, but push our 5,000 to 10,000 guests that are still outside off the property across the street into the protest zone,” leaving organizers inside the building with empty seats to fill. “We as the hosts had to work behind us to move people around and fill sections,” the rally organizer told reporters.
“Our concern is that if local administrators from the college can do that here, during rally, what can they do on election day?”
By the time Trump started speaking, there were no significant vacancies apparent to observers. However, as Trump’s remarks went on, some people began leaving from the upper level.
Credit: Merrill Hart
Credit: Merrill Hart
Representatives for Georgia State University, which houses its own security department and fire safety manager, did not respond to the claims Saturday evening.
Other agencies that deal with crowds and building capacity in the Atlanta area said they weren’t involved or referred questions to other agencies.
The Atlanta Police Department, which directed traffic near the venue, said there were times when pedestrian traffic may have been halted for several minutes as crowds of attendees tried to walk to the entrance. That was due, however, to safety protocols and because motorcades were arriving and leaving, APD said. People were allowed to cross when it was safe to do so and when there was space for them to cross, according to APD spokesman J. Predmore. Otherwise, the department directed inquiries to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and GSU.
The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department said it was not responsible for events on state property such as GSU but can assist with crowd management and fire watch, and referred inquiries to the Georgia fire marshal office and GSU.
But the Georgia fire marshal was not involved in the planning and not present at the event, said a spokesman for the Georgia Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner.
