Organizers of a rally in Redmond centered on support for former President Donald Trump that includes pardoned associates of former President Donald Trump, anti-vaccine activists and politicians involved in limiting voter access right-wing rally planned for Redmond in April two county commissioners, the sheriff and the director of the fairgrounds made guarantees that state COVID-19 mask mandates would not be enforced at the Deschutes County political. the sheriff and the director of the county Deschutes County Fairgrounds made guarantees that state COVID-19 masking mandates would not be enforced at the event.

The Reawaken America Tour features former Trump associates Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, who were pardoned by former President Donald J. Trump for iillegal activity prior to Trump leaving office in January 2021.

The event scheduled for April 1 and 2 is selling 3,500 tickets at $250 apiece to hear dozens of speakers, including many who falsely claim President Joe Biden “stole” the 2020 presidential election from Trump.

Others include anti-vaccine advocates and lawmakers who civil rights advocates say are working to restrict voting access in Arizona and other states.

Emails in publicly available records reviewed by the Bend Bulletin include messages from rally planner Troy Smith claiming he “personally talked at length with 2 of the 3 county commissioners, both of whom sit as Republicans” who said the state’s pandemic mask mandate would not be enforced.

Patti Adair and Tony DeBone are the two Republican members of the commission. The third member, Phil Chang, is a Democrat.

“I also asked the commissioners about the Deschutes County sheriff’s office on two points and confirmed (1) They will be at our call in the unlikely situation of ANY trouble developing to disrupt the event (2) They have made it known they will NOT enforce the governor’s mask mandate,” Smith wrote.

Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson is a Republican who has been declined to act on possible violations of state mask mandates, saying he preferred “education” over enforcement.

Smith Geoff Hinds, the executive director of the fairgrounds whereit will be held, say those promises were never made to Reawaken America Tour.

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The event will be April 1-2 at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center and is

run by Clay Clark, the host of a podcast called Thrivetime Show.

In public records obtained by The Bulletin, a planner for the event, Troy Smith,

writes in an email to Clark that he 

Smith also said in the email he received assurances that the commissioners and

facility manager of the fairgrounds were “comfortable with the event managing

their own decisions on masking.”

DeBone said that is not the case.

“Those are pretty bold statements. It’s nothing I would say directly,” DeBone

said. “Like, ‘Oh yeah don’t worry about the rules we’ll go around it.’ This was not

stated by myself.”

DeBone said he received a call from someone from the event, though he could

not remember who, who asked him whether as a commissioner he would be in a

position to cancel or block the event from happening at a county facility.

DeBone said he said no, as he saw it like any other facility rental at the

fairgrounds.

“The expectation is that they’re just like anybody,” DeBone said, with regards to

following COVID-19 regulations.

Hinds said the fairgrounds expects and requires all events to comply with all

COVID-19 related rules, and suggested Smith’s statements could be a

misunderstanding about Oregon’s mask laws. For example, people are allowed

to take off a mask indoors when eating and drinking.

Hinds said the fairgrounds works with every event to adhere to a safety plan,

which can mean working together to provide face masks, sanitizer and signs

outlining rules.

“No event is an exception to be different or above the law,” Hinds said.

In a statement on behalf of Nelson, Deschutes County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt.

Jayson Janes said the sheriff has not spoken with anyone from the Reawaken

America Tour. Janes reiterated the sheriff’s focus on education about masking

rather than enforcement.

In a text message, Adair said, “Of course the mask mandate will be enforced.

Our fairgrounds follow OHA rules. Hopefully by April 1 our county and country

will be in a better position regarding Covid-19.”

Smith, the planner, did not respond to a request for comment.

The event includes numerous Trump supporters, ministers, vaccine skeptics and

doctors known for spreading election and pandemic-related misinformation.

Brenna Visser

The event is advertised to sell 3,500 tickets at $250 a ticket for general

admission, as previously reported by Central Oregon Daily News.

he tour is a national event featuring a number of conservative speakers,

including two high profile headliners: Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald

Trump’s former national security adviser, who was pardoned by Trump after

pleading guilty to lying about his connections to a Russian diplomat, and Roger

Stone, a Republican operative convicted of obstructing a congressional

investigation into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Trump also pardoned

Stone.