Trump’s SC campaign event closes State House, most of its grounds to the public
South Carolina’s State House will be closed to the public Saturday as part of security measures for former President Donald Trump’s campaign visit, the state Department of Public Safety confirmed.
Access to the State House complex will be limited to the east side of the capitol grounds along Sumter Street. All other areas of the State House complex will be restricted, public safety officials said. Secret Service and advance event planners were were seen at the State House Tuesday and Wednesday walking through the building ahead of Saturday’s visit.
Trump is coming to South Carolina, which holds the first-in-the-South Republican presidential primary, to roll out his leadership team in the state as he seeks the White House for the third time. The event is by invitation only.
A permit issued for the event describes it as a press conference and rally with up to 500 attendees.
To assist with security, Columbia is providing 60 to 80 police officers for Trump’s visit, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook told council members Tuesday.
It is highly unusual for the State House grounds, which sit in the center of Columbia’s downtown and adjacent to the state’s flagship public university, to be closed to the public. The grounds are historically and regularly the site of public gatherings, from ceremonies to protests.
The State House has been a host site for presidential candidates before. Most recently, in 2020, when eight Democratic presidential hopefuls, including now-President Joe Biden, attended the annual King Day at the Dome — a march that was started more than two decades ago to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House. On that day, the State House was closed because it was a state holiday, but the grounds were open.
South Carolina Republicans in their primary have voted for the eventual GOP presidential nominee every cycle since 1980, except in 2012 when the Republican Party nominated Mitt Romney.
Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are scheduled to be at the event with Trump.
Road closures around the State House:
▪ Sumter Street, between Gervais Street and Pendleton Street
▪ Pendleton Street, between Assembly Street and Main Street
▪ Senate Street, from Sumter Street to Marion Street
Road closures will be in place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Reporter Morgan Hughes contributed to this article.
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 3:49 PM.
