Supporters and critics of former President Donald Trump filled a park across the street from the Manhattan courthouse, in a gathering that was mostly peaceful, despite the heated rhetoric surrounding the indictment. Read more at
, as Donald Trump was scheduled to face charges in a Manhattan courtroom amid a loud, boisterous gathering of fans, foes, media cameras and police.
Dozens of members of the media, as well as some members of the public, had been lined up since Monday to gain access to the courtroom for Trump’s arraignment. The park has largely been divided into two camps separated by a line of barricades: those who back the president, and those who don’t. One side cheered to “lock him up,” echoing the similar cheers that Trump once led at his own rallies of his political opponents.
Adams and New York Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said there were no specific or credible threats in the run-up to Trump’s court appearance, but the city would be significantly increasing its police presence as a precaution. “I feel the case isn’t strong enough, from what I hear,” the 59-year-old from Brooklyn said. “I’ve seen a persecution of Donald Trump … at least since the man came down the escalator in 2015. I’m sick of it.”
“He’s the greatest president of the United States,” he said, adding that Trump’s credentials include a “magnificent head of hair.” “Like [Trump] said, he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue, and I don’t really care, because what he does for America outweighs, you know, a crime even like that,” Cini said. “He said it; I didn’t. But I support him because he’s the only American president who ever said, ever, since George Washington, America first. No president has ever said that.”
“It seems like things are tense right now, with some people waiting to see Trump, and Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Dorry said. “There’s just a lot of police.”Is Trump going to be arrested? Answers to questions about the former president’s legal troubles As she made her way back to her car, surrounded by security and law enforcement, people yelled at her using profanity to urge her to get out of New York City.