Minneapolis Will Recoup Some Of Trump's October 2019 Campaign Rally Costs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mayor of Minneapolis said Thursday the city has reached a settlement with the operators of the Target Center to help pay for the cost of hosting President Donald Trump's rally in October 2019.

Mayor Jacob Frey, who also announced his re-election bid Thursday, said ASM Global has agreed to pay the city, which owns the arena, $100,000.

City officials identified $200,000 in municipal costs that they believe were eligible for reimbursement, including traffic control, installing temporary barriers, public works construction and other services.

"We have a duty to protect free speech regardless of the content, but we don't have to subsidize it," Frey said in a statement.

Frey said the city isn't aware of any other municipality that has been successful in offsetting costs for a Trump campaign rally after the event has taken place.

The settlement agreement will require City Council approval. If the council agrees to the deal, ASM Global will pay the $100,000 bill in installments over three years.

Assistant City Attorney Ivan Ludmer said ASM Global executives initially took the position that they had no responsibility for the costs.

"We are pleased to be able to assist the City in covering some of its costs in providing municipal services, and to provide input as to how city services for future campaign events will be handled," Hugh Lombardi, Regional Vice President of ASM Global said in a statement. "As operators of the Target Center, we never lose sight of our public partnership and how important the venue is to the taxpayers and the local economy."

(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)