‘Neither crime nor misdemeanor’: With the possibility of impeachment still open, Donald Trump proclaimed his innocence today at his first campaign rally ahead of the 2024 presidential election in Waco, Texas – a city where 30 years ago the police operation against a religious sect resulted in a massacre with 76 dead.

The former president of the USA claimed a few days ago that his arrest was imminent in the case of the financing of porn star Stormy Daniels, in exchange for her silence, shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

“The New York State Attorney’s Office under the auspices and direction of the Department of Justice (as the Department of Justice called it) in Washington, D.C., investigated me for something that is neither a felony nor a misdemeanor,” Trump told thousands of supporters at Texas.

The city of Waco, with about 130,000 residents, remains associated with the anti-government Davidian religious sect.

In the spring of 1993, for 51 days the world watched the FBI’s siege of a farm where armed supporters of the leader of the Sect of David, David Kores, had camped. Seventy-six members of the sect, including 20 children, were killed in the fire that broke out at the ranch after it was raided by US security forces. Four policemen also lost their lives.

This tragedy is considered a milestone for the extreme right in the US.

Donald Trump’s staff declined to respond to AFP when asked about the symbolism of choosing Waco for the campaign rally.

The former US president is used to presenting himself as the victim of a “witch hunt”. “They’re twisting everything to tarnish his image,” argued 49-year-old Kelly Heath. A 79-year-old retiree who attended the event with his 16-year-old grandson, who says he is a “big Trump fan” even though he is not yet old enough to vote for him, commented that “all presidents have had mistresses. Why not him too?” “It’s all lies! He is the leader who will save America,” said a 55-year-old Trump supporter.

Street vendors had set up stalls selling hats and T-shirts for Donald Trump supporters. A placard read that “Democrats are Communists.”

The campaign rally in Waco, Texas, offered the tycoon an opportunity to reinvigorate his campaign, which still lacks much momentum, although most polls show Trump will win the Republican nomination in the upcoming presidential election.

But some on the right, and especially wealthy donors, have turned to another politician, 44-year-old Ron DeSandis. The Florida governor has yet to formally announce his candidacy, but is expected to be one of Trump’s main rivals for the Republican nomination.