Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to pay a visit to South Florida Friday to visit Donald Trump, and local law enforcement is getting ready for the high-profile trip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to pay a visit to South Florida Friday to visit Donald Trump, and local law enforcement is getting ready for the high-profile trip.
Netanyahu is set to arrive around 11 a.m. and will make his way to Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach with a police escort.
Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw held a news conference Thursday to reassure that safety will be a top priority.
"We're gonna provide people space on both sides of the road to wave hi or you know, if you want to demonstrate, that's fine," Bradshaw said. "Don't go in the road folks. That's a no-no. I know some of the protesters like to shut roads down and make a statement, that ain't gonna happen here, we're not gonna allow it."
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There will be some road closures in the area and the Intercoastal will be shut down near Mar-a-Lago.
The U.S. Secret Service will also be on hand to assist law enforcement with securing the area.
South Florida authorities are trying to avoid scenes like the ones in Washington on Wednesday, where protesters gathered as Netanyahu spoke before a joint session of Congress.
Local
The demonstrators weaved through the streets of the nation's capital carrying Palestinian flags and signs with messages such as “arrest Netanyahu” and “end all U.S. aid to Israel.” Outside Washington's Union Station, protesters removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place to massive cheers in the crowd.
Cheers rang out as a fire burned what appeared to be a papier-mache likeness of Netanyahu. Protesters spray painted graffiti on a monument to Christopher Columbus, including the words, “Hamas is coming” in large red letters. “Free Gaza” was scrawled in green.
At a press conference in Aventura Thursday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about the protests, calling them a "complete disgrace."
He said he has never seen this “outburst of antisemitism” in his lifetime, and that protests and antisemitic messages are “disgraceful and unacceptable. He also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not being there when Netanyahu arrived to Congress.
“Kamala can’t go there and greet him? That’s not a way to treat an ally,” DeSantis said.
Harris issued a statement on Thursday morning condemning what she called the “despicable acts” by some protesters who displayed pro-Hamas graffiti and burned an American flag.
She was absent from Netanyahu’s address due to a trip to Indianapolis that was scheduled before President Biden withdrew his reelection bid and she became the likely Democratic presidential candidate.
