Defiant members of Villagers for Trump are gearing up for Wednesday’s “America First Rally” at Lake Sumter Landing.
The event, which is scheduled from 3-4 p.m. in the parking lot next to Barnes & Noble, will take place on Inauguration Day, just a few hours after Democrat Joe Biden is sworn in as the nation’s 46th president. President Trump, who is facing a second impeachment after being accused of inciting rioters at the Capitol Building earlier this month when Congress was certifying the election, has announced that he won’t attend the inauguration, though Vice President Mike Pence will be in attendance and is said to be working closely with Biden’s transition team and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Florida Sen. Dennis Baxley and Rep. Brett Hage are scheduled to speak at the rally, with invitations having been sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Congressman Daniel Webster, who has come under fire recently for skipping the vote on Trump’s impeachment for a “family medical obligation. It wasn’t clear Monday if either one of those politicians planned to attend the event.
The rally originally was billed as celebrating Trump’s second-term inauguration or “perhaps a precursor to his 2024 campaign.” It’s also being touted as an opportunity for “laying down the gauntlet” for 2022 to “Take Back the House.”
On Wednesday, Villagers for Trump Founder David Gee said he’s excited about the rally and suggested it’s still up in the air about who will be inaugurated as president. He added that he’s happy to see Villagers for Trump members celebrating the president’s accomplishments and showing support for him to serve another four-year term.
“I, and our members believe strongly there is sufficient evidence that will show major fraud by the Democrat Party to steal this election from the American people,” Gee said in a statement. “We believe justice will prevail at some point and Trump will serve, and many that committed illegal acts will be exposed.”
Gee, who is a member of Freedom Fellowship Church of The Villages, added that as a Bible Prophecy student, he sees “major implications for the time we are in, depending on which candidate and party serves.” Recently, he said his church is “openly and without apologies” supporting the idea that its members should be involved in selecting those who rule over us and denouncing actions among elected officials that are not Biblical. He said that because Trump, who held a rally in The Villages in October, has endorsed and engaged policies that support the Word of God and the Constitution, he is often referenced in his pronouncements.
