• US Trump says he will be arrested on Tuesday and encourages his supporters "to protest"

The New York police reinforced security on Monday in the face of the possible indictment of Donald Trump for buying the silence of a porn actress with whom he would have had a relationship, a "witch hunt" according to the former president, who called on his followers to support him massively.

Only a handful of supporters rallied Monday outside the Manhattan courthouse where a grand jury is considering District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation that could make him the first former U.S. president to be charged with a criminal offense.

There is even speculation that he could be arrested and handcuffed, an unprecedented scenario for which the NYPD is preparing with barricades around the prosecutor's office and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

Trump said Saturday on his platform Truth Social that he would be "arrested" on Tuesday, a blow to his pre-campaign to try to return to the presidency of the United States in 2024. However, it is not yet known when there will be a jury decision and an announcement from the judge.

"We're operating with leaks, we're operating with limited information, but it's clear that they see President Donald Trump as a threat," said Gavin Wax, president of the Young Republicans of New York, organizers of the protest.

In front of the court, detractors of the former Republican president also protested, such as Bob Fertek, a New Yorker for whom Trump is a "fraud" and whom he would like to see in the dock.

Trump, who ended the balance between powers in the United States, again attacked on Monday in his social network against the "corrupt" service of prosecutor Bragg, an African-American Democratic magistrate, elected at the polls, like all judges and prosecutors in the country.

For the 76-year-old Republican billionaire, the fact investigated prescribes after two years. "More importantly, it was NOT CRIME!!!," he wrote in Truth Social.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for the tycoon, warned Sunday on CNN that "if (Democrats) decide to indict him for an infraction that he has not really committed, they are going to generate chaos."

Local authorities fear a repeat of the chaos of the storming of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021, when Trump urged his supporters to ignore the results of the polls that gave victory to Democrat Joe Biden and prevent his inauguration.

On social media, Trumpists promise to prevent the indictment of their hero, in particular the group "The Donald", which calls for a "national strike" or even a "civil war 2.0", according to the media Rolling Stone and Daily Beast.

A complex case

The case of porn actress Stormy Daniels is legally complex. Stephanie Clifford, Daniels' real name, was paid $130,000 from Trump in the weeks leading up to the November 2016 election. Prosecutors say the intention was to buy his silence about an alleged extramarital relationship.

The New York justice tries to clarify if Trump is guilty of false statement, an infraction, or of violating the law on electoral financing, a criminal offense. The investigation was accelerated last week.

Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and now Trump's sworn enemy, in charge of delivering the money to Clifford in 2016, testified before the grand jury, a panel of citizens chosen by lot, whose verdict may lead to an indictment.

Daniels is cooperating with prosecutors. Trump was also encouraged to testify before this grand jury.

"Prosecutors almost never invite the target of the investigation to testify before the grand jury unless they intend to indict him," said former prosecutor and law professor Bennett Gershman.

According to his colleague Renato Mariotti, it is likely that, in the event of an indictment, Trump, who lives in his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, will voluntarily appear in Manhattan court.

On Sunday, several Republican leaders came out in support of Trump, in particular his former vice president, Mike Pence, who broke with the tycoon in 2021, and with whom he could compete in the primaries for the Republican nomination to the 2024 presidential election.

According to The Trust Project criteria

Learn more

  • New York
  • United States
  • Donald Trump
  • Justice