Fake bomb threats against DA, NYPD Headquarters and courts
Unfounded bomb threats were made against the Manhattan district attorney’s office, nearby court buildings and NYPD Headquarters on Tuesday — as New York ratchets up security in preparation for former President Donald Trump’s possible indictment, the Daily News has learned.
As barricades were set up outside high-profile buildings in lower Manhattan, someone called 911 to say that a bomb had been placed at Manhattan Criminal Court, a law enforcement source said.
Additional calls claimed bombs had been placed at NYPD Headquarters as well as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. All the threats were investigated and quickly determined to be unfounded.
The caller claimed that the bombs were placed in cars either parked inside or outside the buildings, a source said.
A hearing at Manhattan Supreme Court in the New York attorney general’s lawsuit against Trump was briefly delayed as a result, with court officials citing a “security risk.”
Bragg is believed to be eyeing felony charges against Trump for reimbursing Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election.
Over the weekend, the 76-yearold former commander-in-chief set off a firestorm by claiming he would be arrested Tuesday and calling on supporters to protest any indictment.
“The far & away leading Republican candidate & former president of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday of next week,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Protest, take our nation back!”
Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell are outlining security precautions ahead of the decision and have erected barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court as well as Midtown’s Trump Tower.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine denounced the bomb threats Tuesday, claiming that the Manhattan DA “will not be intimidated by threats directed at him or his office.”
“He will not allow [the threats] to influence the course of the case against Mr. Trump,” Levine said in a letter signed by himself and a host of other Manhattan elected officials. “Anyone issuing these threats with the goal of disrupting the work of the Manhattan district attorney’s office will be sorely disappointed.”