Officials on Long Island acted swiftly on Wednesday to dispel false social media reports claiming that explosives were discovered in a vehicle near a rally for former President Donald Trump in New York.
These misleading reports began to circulate just hours before Trump’s campaign event at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, occurring shortly after he was seemingly targeted in a second potential assassination attempt.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder mentioned that authorities questioned and detained an individual who might have been training a bomb detection dog near the rally location, and who allegedly “falsely reported explosives being found.”
Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a spokesperson for the county police, clarified in subsequent messages that the individual in question was a civilian with no affiliation to law enforcement.
He added that this person was neither working at nor connected to the rally, which is anticipated to attract thousands of Trump supporters to the arena that once hosted the NHL’s New York Islanders.
This rally marks Trump’s first appearance on Long Island, situated just east of New York City, since 2017.
In the 2020 elections, President Joe Biden secured a victory over Trump on Long Island by approximately a 4% margin, defeating him in Nassau County by around 60,000 votes, although Trump won neighboring Suffolk County by just over 200 votes.
Earlier in the day, Skrynecki and other local officials quickly attempted to rebut the online rumors, which appeared to have originated from a report citing unnamed sources in the local police department.
These assertions were rapidly spread on X (formerly Twitter) by various high-profile accounts, including Elon Musk, who has nearly 200 million followers. Representatives for X did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
“False,” Skrynecki said in a text to the Associated Press as the misinformation proliferated.
“No. Ridiculous. Zero validity,” stated Christopher Boyle, spokesperson for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.