It’s back to school for one overly enthusiastic pooch who falsely alerted officials that there was a bomb at a Trump rally on Long Island.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder reassured rallygoers that the reports of explosives at the venue were unfounded. The problem, it seems, was a plucky pup who mistakenly sounded the alarm.
When the incident began, thousands of rallygoers were gathered outside Nassau Coliseum, surrounded by Secret Service agents. Social media reports claimed that explosives were found in a car outside the event, starting a bizarre chain of events.
Law enforcement acted quickly and confirmed the report was a hoax.
Commissioner Ryder said police questioned and detained a person who “may have been training a bomb detection dog” near the site of the rally and “falsely reported explosives being found.”
Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a spokesperson for the Nassau County police, emphasized that the person involved was a civilian and not part of any law enforcement agency. He also mentioned that this person was not connected to the event, which drew thousands of Trump supporters to the arena.
But hold your Milkbones. Thanks to journalist James Lalino, this was just one of several hoaxes circulating online. Lalino claimed to have inside sources within the Nassau police department who told him the “perimeter had been breached” and a “blue barrel” had been found at the location.
Those same shady sources told the hapless journalist about the “explosives” found in a car by bomb-sniffing dogs. He reported that the car’s driver was seen running into the woods. Don’t blame Lalino, though. It would have been a great story for him if it were true.
Many well-known accounts on X shared the false claims, including Elon Musk himself, who has nearly 200 million followers.
Skrynecki quickly went into damage control mode, texting the Associated Press to say the claims were false as they continued to spread.
However, threats like these aren’t enough to keep Trump supporters home. The grounds opened at 8:40 a.m. for the event 7:00 p.m. event. A line formed immediately, even though the doors wouldn’t open until 3:00 p.m.
Hundreds of people continued to arrive as night approached. Even though they couldn’t get into the coliseum, many stayed on the grounds to watch the rally on large digital screens around the area.
Around 9:00 a.m., a man near the coliseum grounds reported that he saw someone go into the woods with explosives and a gun. Ryder said he sent officers and a helicopter to search, but they found nothing in the wooded area.
The man who made the false report also claimed to be a law enforcement officer training his dog to become a K-9 officer, but that wasn’t true either, according to the commissioner.
The rally was an important one for Trump. It was his first appearance after the second assassination attempt on his life over the weekend. And it was his first rally in Long Island since 2017.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won against Trump on Long Island by about 4%. Biden beat Trump in Nassau County by around 60,000 votes, but Trump won in nearby Suffolk County by just over 200 votes.
While liberal news sites excitedly pointed out “dozens” of empty seats towards the end of the rally, it was a typical high-energy Trump event. During the rally, Trump remained poised and calm. During his two-hour speech, he highlighted what he wanted to say during last week’s three-on-one debate.
“I’m not a threat to democracy,” he noted. “Democrats are.”
When he announced an upcoming visit to Springfield, Ohio, the crowd began chanting, “Save the cats.” While the mainstream media insists the claims of Haitian migrants eating pets are unfounded, in March, a Springfield city official said he had been hearing these reports from his constituents and found them “disturbing.” At the time, he said he felt it was because Haitians were having a hard time assimilating into American culture. He noted at the time that park wildlife, horses, dogs, and cats were slaughtered.
Locals used social media and city council meetings to express their concerns about the pet situation and other dangerous incidents involving Haitians.
Note: No bomb-sniffing dogs were eaten during the investigation for this report.
