State and local police are preparing for protests — and counterprotests — at President Donald Trump’s visit Friday to Puritan Medical Products in the Piscataquis County town of Guilford.
Trump’s visit comes as civil unrest continues around the country following the police killings of George Floyd and others, and as Trump has come under criticism for his response to the situation.
Mike Sauschuck, Maine’s commissioner of public safety, says he’s not expecting things to get out of control in Guilford, but because many Americans right now are feeling very raw, he says, “Without question we have the potential for Friday to be pretty raw as well.”
Sauschuck says state and local agencies will work with all the parties involved to make sure they can safely exercise their First Amendment rights.
The details of the president’s visit to Puritan, which makes swabs used in tests for COVID-19, haven’t been made public. Gov. Janet Mills has expressed concerns that the visit could present a security risk, and urged him to “check the rhetoric at the door.”
