US Election: Trump set to hold first outdoor rally since assassination attempt

Former US President and Republican candidate, Donald Trump will hold a rally outdoors Wednesday in North Carolina, the first open-air campaign event since he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at an open-air appearance a month ago.

According to US media reports, citing security and campaign personnel, security precautions are said to have been intensified for the afternoon rally scheduled at an aviation museum in Asheboro, North Carolina, including the use of bulletproof glass surrounding the Republican nominee’s podium.

The Secret Service had recommended that Trump stop holding outdoor events after the agency assigned to protect presidents and candidates failed to stop a gunman who fired at him from a rooftop at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring Trump in the ear and leaving one person in the crowd dead.

The former US President, who has held roughly a dozen indoor rallies since the shooting, has publicly stated he wants a return to open-air events.

On July 31, he told supporters at an indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that “we’re not giving up the outdoor rallies.”

Days earlier, Trump, 78, posted on social media that he would continue to hold open-air events, “and the Secret Service has agreed to substantially step up their operation. They are very capable of doing so.”