Trump Campaign Denies Hiring Armed Guards Seen at Florida Voting Location

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is denying any affiliation with two armed individuals who donned security guard attire and were seen loitering outside a voting location in Pinellas County, Florida, earlier this week. The duo, however, reportedly told authorities that they were hired by the Trump campaign.

“The campaign did not hire these individuals nor did the campaign direct them to go to the voting location,” Thea McDonald, deputy national press secretary for Trump’s campaign, said in a statement to Tampa, Florida, outlet WFLA.

McDonald’s statement came hours after two individuals claiming to be on the campaign’s payroll were spotted in close proximity to early voters at the Supervisor of Elections Office in downtown St. Petersburg.

US President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is denying any affiliation with two armed individuals who donned security guard attire and were seen loitering outside a voting location in Pinellas County, Florida, earlier this week. The duo, however, reportedly told authorities that they were hired by the Trump campaign.

“The campaign did not hire these individuals nor did the campaign direct them to go to the voting location,” Thea McDonald, deputy national press secretary for Trump’s campaign, said in a statement tdonaldtrumpo Tampa, Florida, outlet WFLA.

McDonald’s statement came hours after two individuals claiming to be on the campaign’s payroll were spotted in close proximity to early voters at the Supervisor of Elections Office in downtown St. Petersburg.

This came alongside the Trump reelection campaign’s ongoing efforts to enlist supporters to assist in the president’s “Election Day operations” [EDO]. Video within the “Army for Trump” website claims a so-called EDO volunteer will be “trained on the election laws in your area” and then sign up for a “shift” at a local polling location.

“We need every able-bodied man and woman to join Army for Trump’s election security operation,” Donald Trump Jr. argued in a social media advertisement promoting the effort.

“We need you to help us watch them. Not just on Election Day, but also during early voting and at the counting boards,” he stated, requesting users visit the Republican National Committee’s [RNC] website “Protect the Vote.”

The RNC’s website accuses Democrats of “waging an assault on the integrity of our elections” and encourages Americans to add their names to the “Official Protect the Vote Petition.”

More than 47 million early votes have been cast prior to the official US presidential election on November 3, according to the US Elections Project. The number of ballots already cast is equal to 34.2% of the total votes counted in the 2016 US general election.