A group of Donald Trump supporters were asked to leave a book signing event for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a sign of growing tensions between the two former pals.
In a video shared by far-right personality Laura Loomer, a group clad in Trump regalia waves Trump flags and signs outside Books-a-Million in Leesburg, Florida—before being confronted by a security guard.
“They told me to say anyone wearing Trump has to go right now,” the guard explains, as the supporters react with shock. “Free speech,” one pro-Trump protester yelled.
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Speaking to The Daily Beast, Loomer said that some of the people in the group had tickets to the event to meet the potential 2024 candidate, but were not let inside due to their pro-Trump attire.
“Police showed up and they told us that we were going to be cited and arrested for trespassing if we didn’t leave because DeSantis didn’t want us inside,” she said. “It shows that he’s a tyrant.”
Loomer then took aim at DeSantis.
“Ron DeSantis is anti-free speech. It’s one of the reasons why I don'’t support him and why I’ll never support him,” the far-right provocateur said. “And if he’s a Republican nominee, I simply won’t vote.”
The group eventually left without incident after police showed up.
Leesburg Police Department Captain Joseph Iozzi told The Daily Beast in a phone interview on Wednesday morning that the pro-Trump activists never officially trespassed.
“When we got there, the people [pro-Trump activists] were compliant and ultimately moved to the public area surrounding the mall,” Iozzi said. “There were no official trespass warnings issued.”
