(Juneau) The Dodge County sheriff discussed the work that went into preparing for a visit from a presidential candidate on Sunday. Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally at the Dodge County Airport in Juneau.
Several different dates were floated and possible locations were looked at to host the Trump rally in the months leading up to the actual event. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says this helped his agency be better prepared.
“Because in each one…we had conversations with different secret service agents over different security methodologies and it really gave us an opportunity to sit down in advance to talk about it with our staff,” says Schmidt. “I had our command staff come in for a special meeting and we talked through some of the processes before it was even announced…and then we did it again once it was announced.”
Schmidt says they organized the event planning into various different areas of expertise.
“For example, the perimeter security…or stage security…or traffic control,” says Schmidt. “My area was the motorcade…I had the opportunity to actually drive in the motorcade and had the opportunity to make sure we had proper security set up across the motorcade route. So, we had each or our staff assigned to certain area and then through our meetings, we defined what are the things that we need to get accomplished…how many staff do we need…where do they need to be posted…what equipment do they need.”
The sheriff says he is beyond proud of his entire staff for their efforts leading up to the event. He also thanked all local agencies who assisted with security at the rally.
