The News
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday warned supporters of former President Donald Trump to refrain from creating chaos ahead of Trump’s expected surrender tomorrow.
“While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: control yourselves,” Adams said in a press briefing. “New York City is our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger.”
Adams added that there is no credible security threat to the city ahead of Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan on Tuesday.
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Adams also called out Trump’s allies who have said they plan on traveling to New York City to protest his indictment, specifically Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“Be on your best behavior,” he said.
Adams said that the city is expected to be busier than usual on Tuesday, advising the public to rely on public transport because several streets around the Manhattan courthouse where Trump will be arraigned are expected to close. The FBI and Secret Service are also coordinating security measures with New York police.
So far, there hasn’t been a significant influx in visitors compared to the days leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reported.
Trump left his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and was on his private plane to New York where he is expected arrive on Monday evening. He will be staying at the Trump Tower in Manhattan where additional security measures are being put in place and surrounding streets are expected to be closed.
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Trump is the first former president to be criminally indicted following a years-long probe into his alleged role of giving hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He is expected to surrender Tuesday afternoon. Trump’s attorneys have said that he will not be handcuffed and is expected to plead not guilty at the arraignment.
The specific charges against Trump will only be know when the indictment is unsealed, but sources told multiple news outlet that he faces over 30 counts for crimes like fraud, including some felony charges.
Daniels alleges that she and Trump had an affair in 2006, and she was then asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement for $130,000 shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, was subsequently convicted of violating campaign finance laws for paying Daniels, but he testified during trial that Trump had ordered the payment and then reimbursed him. Prosecutors at the trial presented evidence that showed Trump had falsified business records to hide the payments.
Legal experts have predicted various outcomes of the indictment, and many said it is unlikely Trump will be sentenced to prison if he’s convicted.
