ESTERO, Fla. – There will be a large amount of security present to keep President Donald Trump and the public safe at Wednesday night’s rally in Estero.
Some will be in uniform, others will be in plain clothes. There will be undercover cops and Secret Service blending in with the crowd.
The Secret Service and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office aren’t saying much in terms of specifics on plans to keep the public safe.
Walter Zalisko, a security expert and former police chief says security will be tight and Secret Service will be running the show. Zalisko worked four presidential details during his career.
He says the Secret Service plans weeks in advance for a presidential event.
They take photos of the area, set up a command post, put up cameras and they do walk throughs of where Trump with enter and leave the building.
They also familiarize themselves with emergency exits in the event that an emergency happens.
Local law enforcement, including the Lee County Sheriff's Office and Florida Highway Patrol will help with crowds, traffic and securing the area.
Zalisko says the fact that the rally is being held at night makes security much tougher because of the limited visibility.
He also says security will conduct sweeps around the area throughout the day Wednesday before people are allowed inside the arena.
There are even stricter restrictions for where people can park. For security reasons, the Secret Service has a buffer zone around the arena, which can be up to 1,000 ft. away.
People will likely end up parking at Miromar Outlets for the rally. Once the doors open, the public will likely have to go through “airport style security” checkpoints.
People will pass through metal detectors while some receive random pat downs. Bags will be checked and K-9s will sweep the area.
These security measures have been seen at previous presidential events.
