Big Apple is battening down the hatches ahead of Trump’s possible arrest

The Big Apple is ready to batten down the hatches and mobilize 700 riot cops ahead of former President Donald Trump’s scheduled arrest earlier this week.

State, city and federal law enforcement have been meeting in recent weeks to discuss how to handle the widespread protests expected after Trump’s arrest, as his supporters have already begun descending on the Trump Tower.

The New York Police Department is even considering stationing hundreds of riot cops, the Daily Beast reports, amid fears Trump’s arrest could send MAGA conservatives and anti-Trump protesters to clash in court Manhattan Criminal while he is being arrested.

Trump is expected to face criminal charges over the $130,000 payments his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to porn star Stormy Daniels late in his 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say the payment violated the campaign finance laws and was made to silence Daniels about an affair she had with the mogul.

Several MAGA fans have now descended on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in a brazen attempt to prevent his arrest.

Former President Trump urged his supporters to ‘protest’ as he said he expected to be arrested as early as Tuesday

Two of the former president’s supporters are pictured here outside Trump Tower on Friday for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York

Representatives from the New York Police Department told The Daily Beast they are monitoring social media closely and working with federal authorities and other police departments to assess the scale of any protests.

The force can deploy its “Strategic Intervention Group”, composed of 700 members trained in “disaster control”.

And, if necessary, they said, they could escalate the situation by deploying a Level 4 alert – which would put eight cops and a sergeant on standby in every neighborhood in New York.

At the same time, authorities may mobilize officers providing security for the state Supreme Court building in lower Manhattan, as they fear pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters may gather outside the court. Manhattan Criminal Court, which could lead to violence.

The NYPD and FBI are also coordinating a contingency plan to deal with an increase in threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his staff should some of Trump’s most hardline supporters target them.

And Secret Service agents handling Trump details in South Florida, as well as those in New York, are coordinating how they will get Trump into the district attorney’s office through crowds of protesters and the media.

Part of that discussion, CNN reports, citing people familiar with the conversations, included the need to secure an area for a possible press conference outside Trump Tower.

The New York Police Department is now bracing for violent clashes outside Trump Tower if the former president is arrested

Trump posted this photo of his supporters in the St. Patrick’s Day parade at his Truth Social on Saturday

A street performer known as Crackhead Barney interacts with supporters of former President Trump during the parade

Dion Cini shows off a MAGA t-shirt after coming out as the regional ‘white lives matter’ leader in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

A Trump supporter is seen here with Trump sneakers walking over a poster emblazoned with the face of Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential challenger in 2024

Trump said he expected to be arrested as soon as Tuesday on state charges for payments to Stormy Daniels, as he urged his supporters to “protest, protest, protest.”

Several have already heeded that advice, planning to ditch around Mar-a-Lago in South Florida to prevent his arrest while others gathered outside Trump Tower in Manhattan.

In response, Manhattan District Attorney Bragg issued a memo reassuring his office staff of their safety and saying law enforcement was on alert to investigate any threats.

He didn’t use Trump’s name, but said the threats were related to an “ongoing investigation by this office.”

“Know that your safety is our top priority,” Bragg said in the memo first reported by Politico.

“We do not tolerate attempts by our office to intimidate or threaten the rule of law in New York,” he added.

Bragg previously presented evidence to a New York grand jury regarding the payment of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for his silence on an alleged affair.

The payment was listed as a “legal fee,” which Bragg’s office says is a violation of New York law that prohibits falsifying business records.

Trump has repeatedly denied those claims, and his attorney has accused Daniels – whose real name is Stephanie Clifford – of extortion.

But if he were to be charged, authorities would set a date and time for Trump’s surrender, in which case he would be brought directly before a judge, where he would likely be released on his own recognizance.

And as with all the other defendants in New York, Bragg said Trump would be fingerprinted and taken for a photo.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured in February) said his office would not be intimidated as it considered bringing criminal charges against the former president

NYPD to mobilize its ‘strategic response group’, made up of 700 members trained in ‘disaster control’ to confront protesters

Sources previously told Fox News that the Secret Service would “take the lead” on what they would and wouldn’t allow as part of the arrest.

“Some sources familiar with the planning said they would review security preparations in and around the lower Manhattan courthouse,” Fox Corp. anchor John Roberts told viewers.

“The Secret Service will take the lead in what they allow or not allow,” the source warned, mentioning for example that the decision to handcuff the president, the former president or not, they will set the tone and escort him. in the courtroom.

Under normal protocol, a defendant would be taken to a New York courthouse and placed in a processing room.

They would then be briefly placed in a jail cell, booked, fingerprinted, photographed for a photo ID and handcuffed.

From there they would be escorted – still handcuffed – into a courtroom in full view of the media.

However, Trump is in a very unique position as a former US president, which means he is protected by the Secret Service at all times.

It is not yet clear whether he will be escorted into the courtroom by court security personnel or his Secret Service agents.

If charged, Trump would become the first former US president to face criminal charges.