7 Hospitalized After Trump Airport Rally

Omaha supporters were stranded in freezing temperatures
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 28, 2020 5:25 PM CDT
Cops: 7 Hospitalized After Trump's Omaha Rally
Trump supporters listen during his campaign rally at Eppley Airfield, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Omaha, Neb.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

At least seven people were taken to hospitals after an Omaha airport rally for President Trump drew thousands, many of whom were left stranded miles from their parked cars in freezing weather. Omaha police said in a written statement that first responders dealt with 30 people for medical reasons throughout the day, and seven were taken to hospitals. Police-monitoring sites on social media reported that some people suffered adverse effects from temperatures hovering around 30 degrees as they waited for shuttle buses or tried to walk to their cars more than two miles away following the rally, the AP reports. "Many people underestimated the distance from the event back to the parking lot on foot," Officer Michael Pecha, spokesman for Omaha police, said in the statement.

Most of the thousands who attended the Tuesday night rally at Omaha's Eppley Airfield parked in remote lots and were shuttled to the event in buses. Police said 40 buses were used to shuttle 25,000 people over a 10-hour period, starting at 10am, to the event site, although an undisclosed number left before the rally ended, police said. Traffic became snarled, and buses were overwhelmed when crowds left the event around 9pm, police said. Additional buses were called in to try to get people to their cars, and the last were said to leave around midnight. A Trump spokeswoman says tents and heaters were available at the departure location. Joe Biden said Wednesday that the image of Omaha supporters left in the cold "captured President Trump's whole approach" to the COVID-19 crisis.

(More Election 2020 stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X