Former US President Donald Trump, who is under investigation for possible improper payments, headlined a campaign rally for the US presidential election in Waco, Texas, a place that was the scene of a deadly attack on a cult 30 years ago. During his speech, Trump claimed he would be arrested for a case involving porn actress Stormy Daniels, who allegedly received $130,000 from Trump before the 2016 presidential election to not speak publicly about an alleged affair between the two. Justice is investigating the payment, which could have violated the rules governing the financing of electoral campaigns and triggered a criminal charge against the former president.
Trump supporters with motor homes, pickup trucks, and banners with the phrase “Trump 2024” waited for him around the Waco Regional Airport. The city is considered the “epicenter of the patriot movement,” and in 1993 it was the scene of the FBI siege of a Branch Davidians ranch, where armed followers of their leader David Koresh had barricaded themselves. Seventy-six members of the sect, including Koresh and 20 children, were found dead after the ranch fire, and four police officers were also killed during clashes with his followers weeks earlier.
Trump’s campaign team did not respond to AFP requests about the choice of Waco for the rally. The former president is also under threat of investigations into his 2020 election lobbying in Georgia and his handling of classified White House files and often claims to be the victim of a mysterious “deep state,” a claim considered a conspiracy theory.
Trump visited Waco to reconnect with his public and give new momentum to his campaign, since not all of his party supports him and several polls have him as the winner in the primaries. The billionaire insists on evoking a “fraud” that was never proven in the 2020 elections, where he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. In addition, he has seen part of the right turn its attention to a possible rival for the Republican nomination in 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, about whom Trump warned last year not to run and said that if he does, he will reveal unflattering things about him.