The pieces are in place ahead of President Donald Trump s rally in downtown Phoenix on Tuesday, with the nation waiting to see how it will play out.Officials are bracing for a deluge of tens of thousands of supporters and protesters, leading law enforcement to close roads and also for many businesses, offices, schools and even state courts to close their doors early.Although Trump visited Arizona seven times during his campaign, this is his first visit as president and likely to be a very different affair.  AZ CentralOn August 14, President Trump on Tuesday retweeted a Fox News story saying he was  seriously considering  pardoning former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio.FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: President Trump 'seriously considering' a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio https://t.co/Rgw8l7i9Xl  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 14, 2017President Trump may soon issue a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the colorful former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty two weeks ago of criminal contempt for defying a state judge s order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants. In his final years as Maricopa County sheriff, Arpaio had emerged as a leading opponent of illegal immigration. I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio,  the president said Sunday, during a conversation with Fox News at his club in Bedminster, N.J.  He has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. He s a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him. Trump said the pardon could happen in the next few days, should he decide to do so.Arpaio, 85, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton of misdemeanor contempt of court for willfully disregarding an Arizona judge s order in 2011 to stop the anti-immigrant traffic patrols. Arpaio had maintained the law enforcement patrols for 17 months thereafter.The man who built a controversial national reputation as  America s toughest sheriff  admitted he prolonged his patrols, but insisted he did not intend to break the law because one of his former attorneys did not explain to him the full measure of restrictions contained in the court order.He is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 5 and could face up to six months in jail. However, since he is 85 years old and has no prior convictions, some attorneys doubt he will receive any jail time.Citing his long service as  an outstanding sheriff,  the president said Arpaio is admired by many Arizona citizens who respected his tough-on-crime approach.Arpaio s widely publicized tactics included forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and housing them in desert tent camps where temperatures often climbed well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He also controversially brought back chain gains, including a voluntary chain gang for women prisoners.  FOX News 