Ahead of Trump's rally in Tulsa, woman wearing "I Can't Breathe" t-shirt arrested for trespassing

A woman wearing a t-shirt that said "I can't breathe" was handcuffed and physically removed from the area ahead of President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa on Saturday, The New York Times reported citing the local media.

The police arrested the woman, identified as Sheila Buck, outside the BOK Center, according to the Tulsa World. Sheila Buck, who lives in the city, said she had a ticket to the rally and was arrested for trespassing.

Trump's rally in Tulsa aimed at reigniting Trump's reelection bid was originally scheduled for Friday, which was Juneteenth -- the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

The President rescheduled the event in response to criticism but has largely remained silent on the issue of systemic racism and has resisted changes proposed in the wake of the protests.

However, thousands of protesters, from New York to the nation's capital to Los Angeles, held marches and rallies ignited by the death of George Floyd last month at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

A group called Refuse Fascism said it planned a 4 p.m. (local time) rally outside the site of Trump's event. Similar rallies were planned in at least a dozen other US cities.

US Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, told Fox News on Saturday that he expected Trump to speak about race, adding that "only the President can speak to this issue unlike any other American can speak to this issue."

"It would be important for the President to make a very clear statement that we are one nation under God, indivisible," Lankford said.

Meanwhile, both the ongoing nationwide protests and Trump's Saturday rally have generated concerns about the potential spread of coronavirus.

Six staffers working on the Tulsa event have tested positive for the virus, the Trump campaign said Saturday.

( With inputs from ANI )