Donald Trump Chased Over Unpaid Debts for His Rallies
Authorities in Erie, Pennsylvania, are still seeking $40,330 from Donald Trump's presidential campaign to pay for assistance they provided for his 2018 and 2023 campaign visits, bringing the total debt five cities say he owes them to over $740,000.
It is in addition to more than $700,000 of unpaid debts that four cities-El Paso, Texas; Spokane, Washington; Mesa, Arizona; and Green Bay, Wisconsin-were still seeking last month for rallies that took place between 2016 and 2019, a Newsweek investigation found.
Erie is also calculating a currently undisclosed figure related to the rally Trump held at the city's Bayfront Convention Center on Sunday, which could push the total unpaid debt figure beyond $740,330.
A 2019 report from the Center for Public Integrity found 10 city authorities, including Erie and the four outlined above, were demanding a total of $841,219 as back payments for historic Trump rallies they helped stage.
On Sunday Trump held a rally at Erie's 4,000-capacity Bayfront Convention Center, during which he claimed law enforcement need "One really violent day" to crack down on crime, sparking comparisons online to The Purge film franchise.
Rob Lee, a spokesman for Mayor Schember, told the Erie Times-News: "The Trump campaign still owes the City of Erie a total of $40,330 for public safety costs associated with campaign visits in 2018 and 2023. These costs were for police, fire and public works personnel overtime."
According to the Erie Times-News the bill was split between $35,130 spent supporting a midterm election rally held by the then president in 2018 at the Erie Insurance Arena, along with a second rally Trump held at the same venue in 2023.