(This story was updated to add new information and photos.)
Former President Donald Trump is in Fayetteville today for his first campaign appearance in Cumberland County this election cycle.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, will speak at the Crown Arena, the campaign announced last weekend. Trump is set to take the stage at 7 p.m. for what’s being billed as a town hall event. The doors to the Crown Arena will open at 4 p.m.
This will be Trump’s first visit to North Carolina since Hurricane Helene devastated the western part of the state late last week.
The Fayetteville Observer has a team at the scene, and we’ll be providing you with live updates throughout the afternoon and evening.
Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
Tents with merchandise supporting Trump filled the completely packed parking lot outside of the Crown Arena. Individuals waited in a line that ran through the parking lot for the opportunity to see the former president speak in a few hours.
A staff member said about 4,600 people will be permitted into the event.
Kenneth Yost, of Fayetteville, said he recently became a Trump supporter.“I was a libertarian all the way,” Yost said. “With way things have gone the past four years, I can’t… between the two choices that we have, I can’t go the other way.”
Democrats respond:Local Democratic leaders slam Trump agenda ahead of Fayetteville campaign stop
One Trump supporter showed up to the town hall in an RV covered in pro-life messages, such as “choose adoption” and “vote pro life.”
Michelle Daniels, of Pilot Mountain, said she’s always had pro-life views and has been traveling the country in the RV for two years.“When you take God out of anything, you see what’s happening in our country,” Daniels said. “God said that it’s a baby from the time of conception.”