New security measures at Wednesday's Trump rally in Uniondale

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, backed by a display of law-enforcement muscle, vowed to keep former President Donald Trump and his supporters safe at Wednesday’s rally at Nassau Coliseum, Trump’s first campaign event since Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt in Florida.

Blakeman and Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the county is working with the U.S. Secret Service — which will be in charge of security inside the arena in Uniondale — and Homeland Security, the New York State Police, the NYPD and other agencies to prevent trouble.

"This will be the safest place in the country," Ryder said at a news conference on Monday in Mineola.

Blakeman and Ryder were accompanied by several mounted officers, a K-9 unit, an armored special operations vehicle, an Emergency Services truck and more than a dozen uniformed officers. A police helicopter buzzed over the news conference as Blakeman began speaking.

Blakeman said Nassau has a great deal of experience in hosting dignitaries and large events, citing the visit this weekend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The county has hosted presidential debates and golf’s U.S. Open. The International World Cup T20 cricket matches drew more than 150,000 people earlier this year, Blakeman said.

"This is nothing new," Blakeman said. "We are prepared and we are ready."

The doors of Nassau Coliseum will open at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Trump’s rally is expected to begin at 7 p.m. Blakeman urged rallygoers to arrive well before 3 p.m.

Nassau police have not released a list of streets that will be closed as a result of the campaign rally, but said that information will be available Tuesday morning.

"If you don’t have business in the area, stay away and traffic will be heavy for about 10 hours from noon until 10 p.m.," Blakeman said. "If you are not going to the rally, stay home unless you work in Uniondale or Hempstead. The traffic will be incredibly heavy."

Blakeman declined to comment directly when asked about how much the security measures will cost county taxpayers.

“Let me stress that this is an event that is being run by the Trump campaign,” Blakeman said. “They are paying for all the expenses at the Coliseum, they are controlling the site. Nassau County is only providing the protection and other services, as well as our volunteer firefighters. So they are in contract with the operators of the Coliseum."

The FBI said on Sunday Trump was a target of what "appears to be an attempted assassination" at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

U.S. Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an SKS-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away. An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera. 

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested and faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The Justice Department did not allege that he fired any shots. Additional charges are possible.

Trump was also the target of an assassination attempt during an outdoor rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

University of New Haven criminal justice Professor Bobby McDonald, a former Secret Service supervising agent, said the Coliseum will be much easier to secure than an outdoor rally site or a golf course.

Nassau Coliseum had been the home of the NHL's Islanders and other professional sports teams, who had extensive security procedures in place, McDonald said.

"You already have a terrific security plan in place for the arena, and the Secret Service will build on that," McDonald said.

The parking lot to Nassau Coliseum will be locked down the night before, Ryder said.

Visitors can park in Eisenhower Park or Mitchel Field, but may only enter through the main entrance to the Coliseum on Hempstead Turnpike. No bags, water bottles or other items will be allowed in the arena, which holds 16,000 people.

Rallygoers will have to go through metal detectors as they enter the arena. McDonald said K-9 units and trained police personnel will sweep the parking lot for explosive devices and weapons.

In a statement released after Blakeman's news conference, Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton criticized him for failing to provide more specific details on the county's security operation for the rally. She said there had been a "lack of communication" about "specific road closures, security measures, and logistical planning for an event that will inevitably cause significant disruption."

She also said Blakeman should have given more information on the "exorbitant overtime costs that Nassau taxpayers will have to bear for hosting his political idol."