Large crowd expected for Trump rally in Florence

Officials say a large turnout is expected Friday night at the Florence Civic Center for the Donald J. Trump for President Rally.

The New York billionaire and leader in South Carolina GOP polls will hold the rally at 7 p.m.in the arena of the Florence Civic Center. Doors to the event open at 5 p.m.

The rally is free to the public, but all those who want to attend must either print a ticket prior to the event or be ready to show a ticket on a mobile device. Tickets can be found at TrumpFlorence.eventbrite.com.

Officials from neither Trump’s campaign nor the civic center would give an estimate on how many people are expected to attend the rally, but did say tickets remain available. The Florence Civic Center has a capacity of 10,000 people.

Members of Trump’s campaign wouldn’t go on record about the security details of the event, but said Trump does have Secret Service protection and the campaign will have security measures in place at the event.

Florence police Maj. Carlos Raines said his department isn’t in charge of the event’s overall security but will work with Trump’s campaign to facilitate a smooth event.

“We’ll be working with his security team in whatever capacity they need us,” Raines said. “We always make preliminary plans but those tend to change. They’re expecting a big turnout so we’ll be ready to help where we can.”

This is likely to include a police escort for Trump, as well as traffic control near the civic center.

“It will be Friday evening near the mall, the movie theater and all the restaurants right there, so it’s normally busy over there anyways,” Raines said. “We’ll be working to keep that flowing smoothly as well.”

Trump held a similar rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Thursday evening.

Officials would not confirm whetherTrump will be flying in to Florence Regional Airport on his personal luxury Boeing B757 jet, nicknamed Trump Force One. Airport officials also could not comment on their ability to handle a plane that size.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Large crowd expected for Trump rally in Florence."