TULSA — Tulsa police and the BOK Center responded to a claim from White House officials that attendees were blocked from entering President Trump's rally on Saturday.
Tulsa police posted on their Facebook page to address a quote from White House officials, “In an interview, Parscale said the empty arena was not his fault, and that local law enforcement in Tulsa had overreacted, making it difficult for supporters to gain entry. He claimed to have thousands of emails from supporters who tried to get into the Bank of Oklahoma Center and were turned away, but he did not share those messages or names of supporters.”
READ MORE: President Trump's rally in Tulsa
Police said one of the three entry points, the one at 4th and Cheyenne, closed for about 30 minutes due to demonstrators preventing people from entering.
Once additional officers arrived to assist, the gates reopened and people safely entered the event.
Last Monday, President Trump tweeted almost one million people requested tickets for the "Make America Great Again" rally.
After the rally completed, Tulsa Fire Department confirmed the rally crowd was just under 6,200.
An official with the BOK Center issued the following statement:
To be clear, the BOK Center’s responsibilities for Saturday’s event began at the facility doors. Attendees were screened blocks away under the watchful guidance of secret service and other law enforcement agencies. We cannot address what transpired at those checkpoints, but we can state that every attendee who passed through those security processes, were able to easily access the building in plenty of time for the start of the rally, if they so chose to enter. The building also had no control over the events taking place outside of the venue. That event and all of its logistics was handled by the event organizer. If attendees were delayed in any way, it was solely at the direction of the event organizer who had control over the outside perimeter.
Read Tulsa Police Department's full Facebook response below:
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