2 Protests Planned Outside Donald Trump Rally On Long Island

UNIONDALE, NY — Two demonstrations have been organized in protest of Donald Trump's presidential campaign rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night, officials said.

New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is expected to lead a rally of hundreds of protesters outside the venue at noon. It will be located in the front of the coliseum in "the free speech zone," according to a news release from Nassau County Democrats.

The rally is planned to "reject Trump's extremism" and to address Long Island Republicans' "dangerous shift" in supporting a Trump-aligned agenda "betraying voters," the release stated.

The rally will "call out Long Island Republican officials for embracing Donald Trump's 'hard right turn' that betrays suburban voters and caters to the most extreme elements of the Republican party."

"As Long Island faces challenges such as high property taxes and increasing cost of living, local leaders are standing together to highlight how Trump and local Republicans' shift towards extremism leaves behind the priorities of suburban families," the release continued. "The event will underscore the need for responsible, centrist leadership that addresses the real concerns of Long Island residents."

The rally starts at noon.

At 3 p.m., Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages, a Democrat from Valley Stream, will join a coalition of Haitian Americans in protesting Trump’s rally, her office said.

The group is condemning remarks made by Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, in which they falsely accused Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, of eating residents' cats and dogs.

Trump made the comments in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Local officials in Ohio later said that they had not received any reports related to Trump's claims, Fox News reported. A woman believed to be the originator of the claims also came forward explaining that what she repeated in a community group on Facebook was unsubstantiated and she apologized, The New York Times reported.

Protestors will seek to raise awareness of the harmful impacts of this rhetoric, call for stronger protections for Haitian individuals across the United States, and demand accountability and action from leaders at all levels of government, according to Solages' office.

“We demand a formal apology from the Trump campaign as well as a restatement of the true facts,” Solages said. “We will not tolerate dehumanizing lies about our community.”

Solages became the first Haitian-American elected to the Nassau County Legislature in 2011.

Elected officials and community advocates, including representatives from the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, are scheduled to be among the speakers at the rally.

In addition to calling for an apology, the group is urging that President Joe Biden, Harris, and all local, state, and municipal leaders to take all necessary measures to protect Haitians from physical harm.

They are also calling for Biden and the U.S. Congress to formally recognize anti-Haitian rhetoric and actions as "hate speech, which would grant civil rights protections under existing hate crime legislation and ensure Haitian communities have access to legal remedies when targeted by racially motivated violence, discrimination, or hate speech."

Additionally, the group is calling for the governors of key states with significant Haitian populations, such as Ohio, to allocate emergency funding for culturally competent mental health services tailored to Haitian communities.

Officials will begin letting attendees of Trump's rally into the doors at 3 p.m.

He is expected to make his remarks at 7 p.m.