ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – We are less than 24 hours away from former President Trump’s trip to Albuquerque. He’s expected to host a campaign rally at the Sunport hanger Thursday. 

Hundreds of Trump supporters were told to park in the Isleta Amphitheater parking lot to Thursday’s rally, but KOB 4 learned it’s all off limits. 

“The Trump campaign, the Republican Party of New Mexico, did not receive the proper permits, the proper contract to use that state land, so we are encouraging them to find parking elsewhere. We’re enforcing our rules. Our rules say, unless you have authorized permission to use state land, you can’t use state land,” said New Mexico State Land Commissioner, Stephanie Garcia Richard.

Garcia Richards revealed the current lease for the Isleta Amphitheater does not allow outside events to use the parking lot if the event is not held at the Isleta Amphitheater.

Garcia Richard says her office received an alert that Live Nation – the company that essentially operates the amphitheater – provided unauthorized permission to use the parking lot. She says she did her job.

“This is not a political decision at all. This is about not granting an exception to a rule, something we very rarely do here at the land office. I think folks want government to enforce rules fairly consistently, and that’s what we try to do here,” said Garcia Richard.  

This is not the first hurdle for the Trump campaign this week. We learned organizers first tried securing the Albuquerque Convention Center for Thursday’s rally, and then Tingley Coliseum at the State Fairground, but both facilities are closed for repairs.

Despite the lease technicality, and infrastructure issues, Republican leaders argue this is dirty politics at play.

“Apparently, they’re afraid of a competitive force coming to town,” said state Rep. Jim Townsed. “I’ve grown to kind of expect that kind of political posturing and play in New Mexico. It’s unfortunate, but that’s not going to stop us. We’ll be there.”

New Mexico’s top Democrats are still focused on the presidential race, despite a strong lead from Vice President Kamala Harris in New Mexico. They highlighted their concerns with the former president during a virtual meeting Wednesday morning.

“We want to send a message to Donald Trump that his hate is not welcome here in New Mexico,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury. 

“We’ve rejected Trump’s politics of fear, division and hatred twice before, and we’re going to do it again,” said Speaker of the House Javier Martinez. 

As of Wednesday night, Trump’s rally is still scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Thursday. He’s expected to speak outside the CSI Aviation building at the Sunport.

The Republican Party of New Mexico says supporters can park in three lots, and that includes the airport shuttle lot, which will be free for rally goers. There is also a dedicated Uber and Lyft drop-off location. 

For more information, click here.