Trump spoke for about 20 minutes to group of about 150 gathered for monthly meeting of Linn County GOP. pic.twitter.com/cuoOEhJdgD

— Tom Barton (@tjbarton83) July 18, 2023

“If you say something about an election they want to put you in jail for the rest of your life,” he says, alluding to an expected indictment following news he’s the target of DOJ investigation into efforts to overturn 2020 election. pic.twitter.com/fKmdvnPC0t

— Tom Barton (@tjbarton83) July 18, 2023

Following taping of the town hall, Trump stopped at the monthly meeting of the Linn County Republican Party, where about 150 people squeezed into the Elks Lodge on the city’s southwest side. pic.twitter.com/RjWaKtl3SA

— Tom Barton (@tjbarton83) July 18, 2023

After attending the town hall, Keith and Bettye Penning, of Cedar Rapids, said they want Trump to win again in 2024. They'd lined up earlier in the day ouside the DoubleTree with an American flag lawn chair to give their legs a break.

"He does a good job and he got us really good, then all the sudden the election was a fraud thing," Bettye Penning said of the 2020 election results, doubting President Joe Biden won legitimately. Court challenges and elections officials nationwide have found no evidence of voter fraud in the election.

"He's ruining our country," Keith Penning said of Biden. "His policies are pro-gay, pro-abortion. We're definitely against those kinds of things. He's against energy independence. Those are things that Trump will steer us in the right direction."

In the town hall, Keith Penning said Trump touted wins from his term in the White House. The Pennings said Trump discussed closing the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration, getting the U.S. economy back on track and stopping the flow of fentanyl into the country that is "killing our young people," Bettye Penning said.

Keith Penning said Trump also promoted energy independence, quoting the "drill, baby, drill" refrain -- a statement of support for more drilling for petroleum and gas as energy sources.

About the Justice Department's probe into Trump's involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Keith Penning said Trump discussed how "it's a two-tiered justice system, not one justice system for everyone."

"I think they're treating him differently than they're treating the current president," Keith Penning said. "They're treating him differently than they did Hillary (Clinton). He's just on the enemy list."

Bettye Penning said it seems federal officials don't want Trump back in office, but she thinks another term is needed "if we're going to have a world left to live in."

"I believe Trump can do it, bring our country back to God," she said. "That's what we like so much. We're very strong Christians."

The event let out shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening. 

David Bently, of Kalona, Iowa, said seeing Trump take questions from Hannity and the crowd reaffirmed his support for the former president.

"I just want him to turn this country back around, we're going down the (expletive) with who we have right now," Bently said. "I just want the U.S. to become a world power like we once were." 

Jerry Stewart, of Cedar Rapids and a lifelong Democrat, felt that Trump's rhetoric hasn't changed since he's left office. He said that with the current federal investigation into trump, and his pending case in Flordia's federal courts, he doesn't think that trump will be able to make it to the 2024 election. 

"I'm not sure that he's going to be here when it comes election time," he said. "With the way things are going for him right now I just don't see him being a viable candidate at this point in time. 

Stewart said that without Trump he doesn't see the Republican party winning the 2024 election. 

"I don't think there is anybody else on the Republican side that can stand up to Biden at this point in time," he said. 

Ahead of Donald Trump’s town hall with Sean Hannity in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart issued the following statement:

“If we look at the facts, Iowans did not prosper under the Donald Trump administration. From the worst jobs record of any modern president to the effects his trade war had on our farmers, Trump consistently put Iowans last. No matter what he says tonight, Trump can’t run away from his disastrous record in Iowa.”

The U.S. economy fared well during the first three years of Trump's presidency. The unemployment rate hit a 50-year low, income growth doubled and he continued an economic expansion that grew into the longest in American history. Then the coronavirus spread from China across the globe to the U.S., creating a global pandemic and economic recession.

Trump signed the largest relieg package in U.S. history to protect workers and families from the economic fallout from COVID-19. Trump, though. left office with 3 million less jobs than he was inaugurated in 2017, as a sputtering economic recovery turned negative, marking the worst presidential job record since the Great Depression.

Hart, too, said the former president broke his promise to Iowa’s leaders and farmers in his support of the state's renewable fuels industry by allowing oil refineries to use significantly less ethanol under the Renewable Fuel Standard. His administration also granted a record amount of small refinery exemptions which significantly lowered the demand for ethanol.

The industry is an important market for Iowa farmers, with more than half of the state's corn used to produce ethanol.

Trump provided $28 billion dollars in aid to farmers to recoup some of the money they lost as a result of his trade war with China.

Larry Trout, of Cedar Rapids, stood on the corner of First Avenue E and Third Street SE yelling across the street at event attendees, while holding a sign that read "Lock Trump Up," on Tuesday afternoon. Trout walked up and down the line of atteendees earlier in the afternoon, before being told that the powerhouse side walk was private property and was asked to exit by a Cedar Rapids police officer, Trout told The Gazette. 

Trout was one of a line of protestors that gathered on the other side of First Avenue E while event attendees waited in line to attend the planned taping with Hannity. 

Trout said he felt compelled to protest the event after reading about Trump's upcoming apperance in this morning's paper. 

"I saw it in the paper this morning," he said. "There was no organized protest. I just felt it was my duty to come down and at least exercise my constitutional rights."

Another protester, Glen Kostka, also of Cedar Rapids, only learned about the event during his daily bike ride in downtown Cedar Rapids. When he saw the crowd of MAGA hats and trump gear he decided to join the few protesters across from the event center. Kostka said he felt the need to voice his displeasure with Trump's presidency, although he has always found himself to be left-leaning on politics. 

The recent news regarding Trump's involvement in the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election was a common sentiment among protesters and others expressing their dissent on Tuesday afternoon. Trout said that the news doesn't suprise him, but he hopes that Trump's repeated requests to delay court proceeding's in his trial regarding his mishandling of classified documents doesn't bleed  into the new prosecution. 

"I think that he should be held up as the same as all citizens and he should have his day in court, and not having the hearing keep being delayed," he said. "We all live in a society where the courts make the decisions and he should face these penalties like anyone else would." 

Larry Trout, of Cedar Rapids stands on the corner of First Avenue E and Third Street SE holding a sign that reads "Lock Trump Up" on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Trump taped an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse event center, and is slated to speak at the Linn County Republican's monthly meeting this evening. (Liam Halawith/ The Gazette)

#iagov Reynolds met with reporters today and I asked her if she owes her 2018 election victory to former President Trump. "I owe it to the Iowans who actually put their trust in me," she said.

Background for the uninitiated (with new story to come): https://t.co/KAqhWXZIAh

— Erin Murphy (@ErinDMurphy) July 18, 2023

Pam Murray, of Cedar Falls, said she was told people under age 18 are not being allowed inside the Trump town hall. She’s here with her grandson Fynn and couldn’t find it written in fine print that those under age 18 are not allowed inside. 

Fynn has been a longtime Trump supporter and has attended a past Cedar Rapids rally at McGrath Ampitheater, she said.

“He was excited to come to this,” Murray said. “Nobody can even give me a reason as to why a 14-year-old future voter cannot get into see Trump… I am not happy.”

Fynn sat on the curb and looked over First Avenue East as his grandmother tried to talk again to event officials.

Murray said she wants to know who made this decision because “it’s not right,” whether it’s Fox, Sean Hannity or Eventbrite staff.

“We waited all this time,” Murray said. “… Somebody needs to explain to the people who traveled and couldn’t get here.”

She said she did not believe this would be Trump’s doing. 

“Absolutely not his doing,” Murray said. “This is somebody else and I don’t know who it is.”

In her view, she said, Trump has done more for this country than any previous president.

“He loves the country, he loves people,” Murray said. “What we have right now is going to take us right down to Communism.” 

Of the news that broke Tuesday morning that Trump received a letter notifying him he’s the target of a Justice Department probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Mary Smith, of Des Moines, laughed and said “they’re going to hassle him the entire damn time.”

She was there with her golden retriever, Joy, and said she plans to support Trump in 2024 as she did in 2016 and 2020.

“I’d love for him to be able to do his job and not constantly be fighting lawsuits and investigations that never should have happened,” Smith said.

Smith said she does not trust the 2020 election results. 

“Ballot harvesting,” Smith said. “I don’t know that we can ever even have a true election anymore because when I went to bed that night, he was definitely ahead. Woke up in the morning, nope. Things magically changed. It used to be they could count the votes that night. Now they can’t.”

She was referring to results appearing close in some states on Election Day, but once all votes were counted, Biden ultimately prevailed with 306 electoral college votes — above the 270 needed to win — to Trump’s 232.

Trump contested his defeat in court in several states, but was unsuccessful. Nationwide, dozens of court challenges and state elections officials have investigated and found no measurable voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Inside the town hall, Smith said she hopes to hear ideas from Trump on “how to straighten out the mess we’re in” with the economy, FBI and justice system.

Smith, who gets her news from Newsmax, said she feels there are no longer true reporters and journalists automatically print what they hear. “They are just propagandists for the Democratic Party,” Smith said. “If you disagree with what they say, then you’re a white supremacist.”

This allows Biden to “just blatantly lie,” Smith said.

“He’s telling us that the economy’s gotten better. Go grocery shopping. Go fill your car. Go pay for your meds,” Smith said. “ … Trump has enough money. He didn’t need any more money. He took (the presidency) over because he saw the mess that (former President Barack) Obama had left.”

Mary Smith, of Des Moines, brought her golden retriever, Joy, with her to Cedar Rapids for former President Donald Trump's Fox News town hall event at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse. Smith said she supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, and she plans to support him again in 2024. (Marissa Payne/The Gazette)

Bernie, of Cedar Rapids, walked up and down the line of Trump Supporters handing out flyers detailing how Trump violated Christian teachings. 

Bernie declined to provide The Gazette with his last name and did not provide a reason. 

“God removed Trump from office because he does not love justice,” Bernie told the gazette. “He is breaking the law by prolonging his speedy trial which does not prove his innocence, only the opposite.”

Bernie said that Trumps promises of being “a savior” are akin to a false prophet.

“Also, at one of his rallies he said, ‘I am your savior.’ If Trump is your savior, where does that put Jesus?” 

Fred Wahl, of Eldora, said he is a registered independent voter who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, and plans to support him again in 2024.

Trump shared Tuesday that he received a letter notifying him he’s the target of a Justice Department investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Wahl said he “somewhat” believes President Joe Biden was the legitimate winner, but was concerned about ballot harvesting, where third parties collect absentee ballots from voters' homes and drop them off at a polling place or election office. It’s allowed in some states.

Still, Wahl said he didn’t like to see the efforts to persecute Trump, who was charged last month on 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials.

“No person should be persecuted — whether you like the guy or you don’t — like they have him,” Wahl said.

Wahl said he supports Trump because he believes that China is the biggest threat to the U.S. and that more goods needed to be manufactured domestically so Americans do not “put ourselves in a position to have to beg to some other country.”

Wahl also said he supports Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and how she handled COVID-19.

“I don’t think anyone else could have handled it any better,” Wahl said of her pandemic policies.

Though he supports Trump, Wahl said he wishes when it comes to Reynolds’ relationship with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s vying for the Republican presidential nomination, that Trump would “suck it up and not say nothing.”

The New York Times recently reported on Reynolds’ close ties with DeSantis, prompting Trump to write in a Truth Social post, “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”

“I don’t think he should get mad at her because she ain’t supporting him,” Wahl said. “Just let time play out. I don’t hate the guy but I wish he’d keep his mouth shut every once in a while.”

John Carlson, of Cedar Rapids, came to the event center to support Trump In Tuesday afternoon. 

“To support my president — he’s the only one who can save us besides god,” Carlson said. 

Carlson doesn’t give much weight to allegations that Trump helped attempt to overturn the 2020 election, following news that he is the subject of another investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith. When asked he simply responded: “fake news.” 

Carlson hopes to hear about the “witch hunt” or the several investigations into Trump. Trump was indicted in June by Smith regarding his mishandling of classified documents. 

Carlson also hopes to hear about the possibility of Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joining forces on the Republican ticket in 2024.

Robert Rathke, of Bolingbrook, Illinois, stood clad in trump gear from head-to-toe outside the Alliant Energy powerhouse in downtown Cedar Rapids Tuesday.

Rathke ventured to the event to Cedar Rapids today to support trump, “To let him know that the people are with him and we’re trying to get him reelected and get the country back in order.” 

Trump announced that he was informed that he would be the subject of another investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

Rathke said the news of the investigation bolsters his support for Trump ahead of the 2024 election. 

“Witch Hunt, it's a scam, and if anything, it makes me want to support him more, because I'm sick of how the government's run,” Rathke said. “I'm sick of the FBI, I'm sick of the CIA — how everything is one sided and people don't stand up. Everything's gonna collapse. So I support him more because of that.” 

Trump is scheduled to hold an hour long interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in the Alliant Energy Powerhouse event center this afternoon. Rathke hopes to hear more about trumps plans for the country if he makes it back to the Oval Office. 

“Just great encouraging news of how the country is going to be great again, once he gets in (the Oval Office),” He said. “And I'm sure a lot of it might be the samee speech that he's done at his rallies and stuff like that. I hope he just answers the questions that the people want to get to him.” 

Another sight from outside the Allianz Energy Powerhouse today, where trump will tape an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity. pic.twitter.com/gKKlfyo24A

— Liam Halawith (@liam_halawith) July 18, 2023

Supporters and protestors trade quips as the line grows longer at the trump event in downtown CR. pic.twitter.com/oX4Pr4YjAP

— Liam Halawith (@liam_halawith) July 18, 2023

A steady stream of Trump supporters continue to line up for the sold out event. The line has wrapped around the block. The event is slated to start at 3:45, doors will open at 1:45. 

Barb Ferris, of Cedar Rapids, stood on the corner of First Avenue E and Third Street SE chanting “lock him up” as people lined up across the street for the town hall.

Her sign read “LOCK Trump up!!! Hillary was right Trump is dangerously unfit” on one side and “Fox lies and spreads disinformation” on the other.

Some honked in support of her message and one motorist shouted at the people in line, “He (expletive) lost and he’ll do it again.” Others responded to Ferris that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ran for president and lost against Trump in 2016, is a pedophile. One called her a "satanic idiot" and told her to get out and lightly shoved her sign toward her.

Ferris said she finds the amount of conspiracy theories Trump supporters believe concerning — that the 2020 election was stolen, President Joe Biden is a pedophile and that Clinton ran a child-sex ring out of a pizza parlor.

“Trump destroyed the country four years ago and if he gets in again, I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen with this country. It’s unbelievable that these people don’t believe facts… It’s all his lies and they regurgitate it,” Ferris said.

Ferris said five years ago, she wouldn’t have envisioned standing on a street corner with a protest sign. But she said she’s had enough of GOP attacks on civil rights and transgender rights and fears inaction the climate crisis. 

“I just had enough… I’m terrified for my children and grandchildren,” Ferris said.

Barb Ferris, of Cedar Rapids, stands on the corner of First Avenue E and Third Street SE on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, chanting “lock him up” as people line up across the street for a Fox News town hall featuring former President Donald Trump. (Marissa Payne/The Gazette)

Told Fox News host Sean Hannity will take questions from the audience while discussing the latest news on the letter Trump advising he's the target of a Department of Justice investigation into efforts to overturn the results of 2020 presidential election, the 2024 presidential race, immigration, the economy and the overall state of the country with the former president.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential compaign is highlighting new polling by Public Opinion Strategies for a little-known group called the Citizen Awareness Project that shows an overwhelming majority of likely Iowa GOP cacus-goers disagreed with Trump's recent criticism of Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. 

The group polled 400 likely Iowa GOP caucus goers July 14-16, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

Asked if "Trump was right to publicly trash Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for not endorsing his presidential bid," 78 percent of respondents disgreed with Trump's attack on Reynolds' neutrality, while 17 percent agreed. 

Trump took heat from Iowa Republicans last week after criticizing Reynolds, a popular two-term governor. Eighty-four percent of GOP caucus-goers polled said they have a favorable impression of Reynolds.

Trump took aim at Reynolds on Truth Social, taking credit for her 2018 election win and attacking her for remaining neutral in the 2024 primary.

Former President Donald said Tuesday in a post on his Truth Social platform that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that he could soon be indicted by federal prosecutors.

Robin Wegener, 66, traveled from Fargo, North Dakota, Monday night to attend a Fox News town hall at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse convention center in downtown Cedar Rapids with Trump and host Sean Hannity.

Asked about news of Trump being the target of another DOJ investigation, Wegener said "everybody for the most part knows it (the 2020 presidential election) was rigged."

Trump’s relentless claims have been continually disproved, as dozens of postelection ballot reviews and failed lawsuits across the country have showed time and again that there was no widespread election fraud in 2020.

"They have to keep coming up with something to try to take him down, and it's not going to work anymore," Wegener said, wearing a red-and-white "Make American Great Again" baseball cap and red-white-and-blue blouse.

From allegedly mishandling state secrets to accusations he paid off an adult film star, Trump is facing numerous legal problems. He is facing charges in two separate criminal investigations, and was ordered to pay millions of dollars to a writer after being found liable for sexual abuse.

A New York grand jury indicted Trump for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels but admitted to reimbursing former personal lawyer Michael Cohen for his payment to Daniels.

Wegener asserted the "corruption is not with Trump" but with Democratic President Joe Biden and his administration.

"They're allowing all of this happen," she said of increases in unlawful border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years that has spurred sex and fentanyl drug trafficking in the United States.

After two years of record crossings and crisis-level strains, the Biden administration reported a 70 percent drop in unlawful entries at the southern border in the month since the Title 42 pandemic-era asylum restrictions expired, from May 12 to June 2.

Biden's critics, though, continue to depict his border policies as too permissive — geared more toward accommodating mass migration than deterrence.

The Trump administration adopted a strict border policy, which allowed border agents to immediately expel millions of migrants on public health grounds. The Biden administraion instead has focused its efforts on revamping the asylum process that pairs tough consequences for unlawful entry with an expansion of lawful pathways and processes for migrants to enter the United States.

The White House in May returned to an expedited removal processes under Title 8, which allows the government to remove from the country anyone unable to establish a legal claim for asylum. Removal under Title 8 also bans these migrants from the country for five years.

Administration officials acknowledge it is too soon to tell whether their new approach can achieve lasting effects. 

"I like his policies on the border, the economy," Wegener said of Trump. "We are in a state that has liquid gold underneath our feet. In North Dakota there's (oil) refineries," Wegener said. "I'm all for opening up the (Keystone XL) pipeline and getting rid of corruption in government. ... They're destroying this country. And if Trump doesn't take it back, I don't think that we have a future for our kids and grandkids. Point. Stop. Mic drop."

Line of about 50 people has already formed outside Aliant Energy PowerHouse arena in Cedar Rapids ahead of Fox News town hall with former President Donald Trump and host Sean Hannity. pic.twitter.com/jWNQWNsqAd

— Tom Barton (@tjbarton83) July 18, 2023