VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Vice presidential candidate and U.S. Senator JD Vance traveled to Hampton Roads Thursday evening for a political fundraiser, prompting some road closures in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Around 5:40 p.m., former Congressman Scott Taylor, of Virginia Beach, posted on social media that Vance was "soon to land in Virginia Beach." About an hour earlier, he also posted a photo on social media of himself in front of a Trump-Vance plane, saying he was "on the way" to the resort city.
This comes after Taylor announced recently that he was hosting the fundraiser for former President Donald Trump’s campaign and that it would feature "special guest Senator JD Vance."
A flyer for the event listed Bruce Thompson and Bryce McFerran as other hosts of the private event, which was held at the Cavalier Hotel and closed to the media.
"This is shaping up to be the highest-grossing fundraiser for any federal candidate that I’ve ever heard of in Virginia Beach," he said.
Around 6 p.m. Thursday, 13News Now received numerous reports of Interstate 264 being shut down for a period of time, and several members of our staff witnessed traffic being diverted off the interstate. The state's traffic cameras along the interstate were also turned off.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Secret Service said that "residents and visitors in or around Norfolk and Virginia Beach should expect intermittent road closures and parking restrictions as part of the visit."
She said it's typical for Secret Service to work closely with local law enforcement to boost security for events like this, while trying to minimize "disruptions to the public." But she couldn't share any other specifics about the "the means and methods used for our protective operations."
13News Now reached out to Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Transportation, but we have not heard back, yet.
