Police on 2 coasts brace for disruptions
Former President Trump has called for protests if he is indicted by a grand jury in New York.
The New York and Los Angeles police departments and other law enforcement agencies nationwide are taking steps to prepare for possible protests and disruptions if former President Trump is indicted.
Outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump would appear if he were indicted by a grand jury for a hush money payment to a porn star, the NYPD on Monday morning installed a steel crowd-control fence. Since the weekend, a heightened law enforcement presence has been seen at Trump Tower.
In Los Angeles, the LAPD and federal authorities are preparing for a protest Tuesday evening outside the federal building in Westwood by groups supporting the former president.
Behind closed doors, New York, federal and other law enforcement officials began preparing over the weekend for what would be an unprecedented indictment. Mayor Eric Adams and the police chief planned a briefing of city leaders about preparations.
“We are monitoring comments on social media, and the NYPD is doing their normal role of making sure that there’s no inappropriate actions in the city,” Adams told reporters, according to the New York Daily News. “We are confident we are going to be able to do that.”
In Los Angeles on Tuesday, all LAPD officers will be in uniform, but it is officially because of a planned employee strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Several law enforcement sources familiar with the planning said they are preparing for the worst but expect a muted response.
New York police at the highest level huddled after Trump on Saturday claimed he received a “leak” of information that Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg plans to bring a criminal case against him this week. The case involves a payment to adult actor Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged encounter Trump had with her. The former president has denied the allegation.
In a post on his Truth Social site Saturday morning, Trump called for “PROTEST” and implored his supporters to “TAKE BACK OUR NATION!” He particularly keyed in on Bragg, labeling the case politically motivated.
In an email to staffers first reported by Politico, Bragg told his staff he was working with the NYPD and court officials to ensure they remained safe, saying, “We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”
Law enforcement agencies saw a wave of pledges on social media to block an arrest related to an indictment, including an armed group that would protect the former president’s Florida Mar-a-Lago estate.
But a prominent organizer of rallies that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot posted on Twitter that he intended to remain on the sidelines.