Joseph Gerth

Opinion Columnist | Louisville Courier Journal

Donald Trump, who was accused in a lawsuit of inciting a riot after he visited Louisville in March, is coming back to the River City.

The National Rifle Association announced Tuesday that the Republican front-runner will speak May 20 in Louisville at its annual meetings.

The NRA-ILA Leadership Forum is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Expo Center's Freedom Hall. Tickets are available.

The announcement of Trump's visit comes as some in the GOP try to block his nomination for fear that he would lose badly to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, in November.

Trump has been a controversial candidate due to statements about women and minorities. Among other things, he has promised to build a wall on the country's border with Mexico and said he would make the Mexican government pay for it – which the Mexican government has said it would not do.

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Also invited to the event are U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who are the only two remaining candidates trying to stop Trump from getting the delegates he needs to win the nomination. According to the NRA's website, neither has agreed to speak yet.

Among those confirmed to attend are Gov. Matt Bevin, Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, all Republicans.

Trump last visited Louisville in March for a rally ahead of Kentucky's Republican Party caucus, which he won. Several protesters who were there claimed that Trump supporters, at his urging, roughed them up as they were taken from the Kentucky International Convention Center.

Matthew Heimbach, a white supremacist from Paoli, Ind., acknowledged that he was seen on video at the event "helping the crowd drive out one of the women," whom he blamed for causing the disturbance.

Joseph Gerth can be reached at 502-582-4702 or jgerth@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Gerth.