Setauket Patriots Group Plans Trumpalooza On Long Island This Weekend

SETAUKET, NY — Trumpalooza, a caravan of supporters of former president Donald Trump, is planned for Saturday, kicking off in Port Jefferson, according to organizers, the Setauket Patriots.

The event, which has been billed as the last big rally before the presidential election, will include a Trump impersonator, "Tommy Trump," in his presidential motorcade, a group of vehicles that resemble the official ones.

Participants will meet at the Long Island Rail Road parking lot, the overflow lot on the south side of the tracks on Rail Road Avenue at 11 a.m. It will pull out at noon.

The Setauket Patriots are also encouraging supporters to line the street along the caravan route so they can cheer them on.

The caravan will go along Route 112, heading north to Port Jefferson Village, then on to Route 25A West, passing Setauket Patriots' Corner in Setauket. It will then go along Lake Avenue South, heading to St. James, before making a left onto 25 East, where it will make a left onto County Route 83 North in Coram.

From there, it will make a left onto to Route 112 North, heading back through Port Jefferson a second time, as well as 25A back through Setauket before ending in St. James for a rally and pizza party.

The route has been dubbed the "Trumpalooza Port Jeff loop" by the group.

The group's leader, James Robitsek, told Patch he expects the caravan to be a peaceful event, and, so far, 130 people have signed up.

"It's going to be a big Trump rally for Trump supporters to get out the vote," he said. "Early voting starts, actually on Saturday, and when we did hold this in 2020 it was a big success."

Three protesters tried to block the caravan and were arrested, Patch previously reported.

He said the group does not need a special permit for the gathering because it is not considered a parade.

Port Jefferson Village officials previously challenged plans for the caravan, with officials saying that there should have been a permit obtained.

Port Jefferson Village officials did not respond to requests for comment.

A Brookhaven Town spokesman, Clerk Kevin LaValle, said the municipality does not issue permits for "motor vehicle events" like the rally.

A Suffolk County police spokeswoman told Patch that the department is "aware of a planned political rally" starting in Port Jefferson on Saturday. Sixth Precinct personnel will be monitoring the event, she said.

When asked if Metropolitan Transportation Authority police would be on hand, spokesman Aaron Donovan told Patch that the organization does not normally speak about "police deployment strategies."

“It’s New York," he said. "There are special events all the time, all over the region. The MTA is providing extra service for the World Series at Yankee Stadium, to the Hudson Valley so ‘leaf peepers’ can see fall foliage, and when there are events at Madison Square Garden, we provide sufficient transportation so people can leave their cars at home.”

Donovan said that anyone considering traveling to MSG via the LIRR is advised to check the MTA Train Time app for the most up-to-date train schedule information.

Robitsek says he expects traffic to be normal, and explained that the group follows the traffic pattern, and stops for red lights, and while some cars might meet up with the group, he does not expect it to present a problem.

"Some people feel, they don't want to be part of it; they pull over," he said. "But other people get in the middle of it. They don't care."

He expects some groups of supporters on North Country Road and Route 25.

"There's people that hear about it. They come out with a flag or something like that," he said.

It is at some of those spots where supporters are that "Tommy Trump," played by Thomas Mundy, will get out of the mock presidential motorcade and greet supporters.

Mundy, who looks strikingly like Trump and even sounds like him, described his routine as "a fun thing."

"I'll be in the lead limousine because I'm Trump and I'll be waving to people," he said, adding that little children sometimes have no idea that he's not the former president.

Robtisek said his group's numbers have dwindled in comparison to when it was first started.

He had 29,000 in his Facebook group, but after the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation shut the page down, so he had to restart it. There are now around 200 people in the group, he said.

"They were throwing everybody off Facebook after Jan. 6," he said, noting that Trump was thrown off Twitter. "And they threw my group off because we went down there."

Robitsek said he posted pictures of being at the rally at the U.S. Capitol, and he was reported to the FBI.

"The FBI actually came to my house after Jan. 6, but they saw that we were just a regular group," he said. "We weren't doing anything malicious, or we didn't go inside the building."

The group rallies on Saturday at the intersection of North Country Road and Route 25A in Setauket, and they meet up for pizza every Wednesday in St. James. They have also hosted political events with candidates like U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota.

The group is also met by counter protesters in Setauket every week, though there have not been any incidents.

"We're on the one side; whatever the flavor of the week is with the Democrats," he said. "They have their stories made up, and we're there with our flags, and that's it. It's actually funny."

"I like to know someone on a personal name basis, where I can actually have conversations with them," he added.

Patch has reached out to the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee for comment.

Trump himself will be in New York on Sunday where he will take part in a rally at Madison Square Garden, according to his campaign's Facebook page.

The election that pits him against Democrat, Vice President Kamala Harris, is Nov. 5.