Trump Burlington Event Oversold?

GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS

Vt. police raise concerns about oversold Trump event - Vermonters who plan to see Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speak here on Thursday should prepare for "airport-like" security and sizable crowds after the campaign issued tickets for more than 10 times the number of available seats, the Flynn Center's executive director says.

“We’ve been working with the Secret Service very carefully along with the Burlington Police Department,” said John Killacky, whose 1,400-seat theater is playing host to Trump's evening speech.

Outside the venue, city officials are concerned after learning the Trump campaign issued far more free tickets than there are available seats. As of midday Wednesday, police said the campaign had distributed about 20,000.

“I wonder if the Trump campaign took into account the safety of the police officers who have to contend with large, dissatisfied crowds,” Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said. “This situation would place police officers in needless confrontations with citizenry.”

Del Pozo said the fact that the event provides residents the opportunity to listen to a major political candidate is the only reason police are allowing Trump to speak as scheduled.

“If Phish was holding a free concert at the Flynn and gave away 20,000 free tickets, we would cancel the event out of public safety concerns,” the chief said. “We are committed to accommodating the campaign because political speech is the very essence of the First Amendment.”

Trump, the New York businessman who leads national polls for his party's nomination for president, booked the Flynn on Dec. 30. He is scheduled to deliver a speech at 7 p.m. ET. Burlington police also will limit traffic and parking around the Flynn Center on Thursday, the department said.

“It’s open seating, so it’s first-come, first-served,” Killacky said.

For his part, Trump tweeted excitement about Thursday's speech.

"Huge crowd expected tomorrow night! VT Police say first come, first serve. Arrive early," he wrote on Twitter — though he failed to mention the reason for the first-come, first-serve policy was the over-ticketing of the venue.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to a request for comment.