According to the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting (NRA AM) website, the U.S. Secret Service would "take control" of the room where Trump would deliver his address. The website went on to say: "Per the U.S. SECRET SERVICE, firearms, firearm accessories, knives, and other items WILL NOT BE PERMITTED in the General Assembly Hall."
Fact Check
On May 25, 2022, progressive political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen tweeted, "Guns are banned at the NRA convention in Texas this weekend when Trump speaks. Let that sink in." We found that this was a true statement, as it was announced that the U.S. Secret Service was set to take over control of the room for the NRA event when former U.S. President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak.
The convention, formally known as the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting (NRA AM), was set to begin on May 27 inside the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.
The tweet was posted in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is also located in Texas. On May 24, three days before the convention was set to begin, a gunman took the lives of at least 19 children and two adults before he also was killed by a Border Patrol agent who responded to the scene.
A report from NPR.org linked to the NRA convention website, which confirmed that guns would be banned during the event that included Trump's speech. It showed that the former president's address would be happening on on May 27, sometime between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the Central time zone:
Join NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, NRA-ILA Executive Director Jason Ouimet, and our nation's top Second Amendment supporters for the 2022 NRA-ILA Leadership Forum on Friday, May 27th.
IMPORTANT: Security Information for the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum. Please read carefully.
…
With the announcement that President Donald J. Trump will be speaking at the Forum, the U.S. Secret Service will take control of the General Assembly Hall and have magnetometers in place before entry. You will be subject to a search of your person and belongings.
Per the U.S. SECRET SERVICE, firearms, firearm accessories, knives, and other items WILL NOT BE PERMITTED in the General Assembly Hall. For a full list of prohibited items, please click here. Read the list of prohibited items carefully before traveling to the event. You will not be allowed in the General Assembly Hall with any of the items on this list.
There is no storage available for firearms.
According to a separate flyer linked to on the page, a number of items in addition to guns were banned by the U.S. Secret Service, specifically during the event that included Trump's NRA speech:
The list showed the following products: aerosols, ammunition, backpacks, bags larger than 18"x13"x7", drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, firearms, glass/thermal/metal containers, gun parts, holsters, knives, laser pointers, mace/pepper spray, magazines, selfie sticks, signs, toy guns, umbrellas, weapons of any kind, and any other item determined to be potential safety hazards.
In sum, yes, guns were banned during Trump's NRA speech in May 2022, as the U.S. Secret Service had control of the event, which it involved the presence of a former president.