Donald Trump travels to Michigan for first rally since assassination

(CBS-DETROIT) – Former President Donald Trump and his recently appointed running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, will is coming to Michigan this weekend for their first joint rally. It is also the first Trump rally since the attack in Pennsylvania last Saturday.

Saturday’s rally will be held in downtown Grand Rapids at the Van Andel Arena and is open to the public.

“You have to be prepared for an all-threat, all-danger approach. Basically, it’s not just about protecting the candidates, but also the public,” said Al Shenouda, managing partner of City Shield Security Services in Detroit and the AmeriShield Protection Group.

Shenouda was formerly the Department of Homeland Security’s counterterrorism director and advised on security issues for events ranging from the Super Bowl to the 2008 Republican National Convention.

He said that following the attack, security at the rally in Grand Rapids would be tightened to prevent possible copycats and what he calls the “echo effect.”

“The echo effect is another type of adversary who doesn’t want to carry out an attack just out of jealousy or for 15 minutes of gameplay; they want to continue to project the original violence, particularly the psychological impact associated with the violence. Much like an echo chamber, they want the echo effect to continue to reverberate so they can terrorize the general public even more,” Shenouda said.

He said federal, state and local police forces will be on site inside and outside the venue.

“Van Andel is an area that has a professional sports league program, much like Comerica Park or Little Caesars Arena here, so they’re used to a lot of these protective measures,” Shenouda said.

Shenouda said security measures could be strengthened beyond the usual level.

“Presidential candidates are not subject to a temporary flight ban, a no-fly zone. They don’t get anything like that. That could well change now so that they can control the airspace,” he said.