New York braces itself for riots: Trump expected in court after indictment

Helicopters are circling over the Trump Tower in Manhattan, barricades have been erected on the street, dozens of press representatives and isolated demonstrators are waiting spellbound: New York is preparing for a historic day before the indictment is read out against former US President Donald Trump. The Republican arrived in the east coast metropolis on Monday under constant media surveillance.

Trump is scheduled to appear in court there on Tuesday after the unprecedented indictment against him. It is the first time in the country’s history that an ex-president has had to face criminal charges. New York has ramped up security due to fears of riots.

Trump’s arrival in New York is a media spectacle

Trump actually lives in his luxury estate Mar-a-Lago in the US state of Florida. He had to fly north for around two and a half hours for the court date in New York. The US media already staged the journey as a spectacle – TV stations broadcast every stage of the 76-year-old’s journey live. In a convoy of black vehicles, Trump first drove to the airport in Palm Beach, where he boarded his Boeing 757, on which the name Trump was emblazoned in large letters. The flight to New York City was at times the most watched flight in the world on the Flight Radar flight portal.

The arrival in New York was similar. Helicopters accompanied the convoy on its journey from LaGuardia Airport in the borough of Queens to Trump Tower in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue. In front of the skyscraper, the security precautions were increased again, police buses were ready.

Some Trump fans fought verbal battles with opponents. Before Trump entered the skyscraper, he briefly waved to onlookers on the street – but then the otherwise less media-shy ex-president hurried on without comment. Instead, he vented his anger at the indictment on his Twitter replacement, Truth Social.

Donald Trump: An indictment like never before

The District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan published the indictment against Trump last Thursday. The accused must appear in person at the indictment hearing in Manhattan. Around 30 charges are said to be brought against him – none of which have been officially announced so far.

The case is complicated. Shortly before his election as president in 2016, Trump had hush money paid to porn actress and director Stormy Daniels. She had claimed she had sex with him. Trump denies an affair, but not that money flowed.

The payment itself is not illegal. According to the media, however, Trump is accused of having incorrectly billed them and falsifying business documents. He may have violated campaign finance laws. According to US media, Trump has been charged with 34 crimes, each of which carries a prison sentence. Trump vented his displeasure with the reports on Truth Social.

According to the media, Trump met his legal team in Trump Tower on Monday evening (local time). “He’s in a good mood,” said one of his lawyers on US television. Trump is ready to appear in court.

For this appointment, the once most powerful man in the state is likely to be briefly detained so that fingerprints and police photos can be taken of him. Whether these photos are actually taken is an open question. This will all happen behind closed doors. Trump is likely to plead “not guilty” at the indictment hearing. The responsible judge rejected a video transmission from the court.

Trump has denied all allegations of a politically motivated “witch hunt” to prevent his victory in the 2024 presidential election. After the indictment has been read, he will first leave the court and then probably leave New York again. Back in Mar-a-Lago, Trump wants to speak to the press in the evening (local time).

Increased security at Trump trial in New York

Due to the historic event, there was a real state of emergency on some streets in downtown New York. The night before the indictment, people were queuing in front of the courthouse in south Manhattan to get into the courtroom. Barriers were erected around the building and media representatives from all over the world set up their cameras. Radical Republican MP Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most well-known and outspoken conspiracy theorists in the US House, wants to protest outside the door during the court hearing.

The storming of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021 has led some New Yorkers to fear that there could also be chaos and rioting in the liberal east coast metropolis. Mayor Eric Adams warned protesters against becoming violent as a precaution. New York is not a “playground for inappropriate anger”. US President Joe Biden, on the other hand, was demonstratively relaxed. “I have faith in the NYPD,” he said when asked if he was concerned.

Trump had already called for protests a good two weeks ago. This brought back memories of the deadly Capitol attack, in which his supporters stormed the US Congress to prevent President-elect Biden from replacing Trump. Democrat Biden won the 2020 election, but Trump has refused to acknowledge his defeat to this day. A few months ago, he announced his intention to run again for the Republicans in 2024 and to move into the White House a second time. In internal party polls, he is actually ahead. In addition to the right-wing spokeswoman Greene, other party leaders gathered behind Trump after the indictment and shared his thesis of persecution by a politically controlled judiciary.

Many Americans support the charge

Many Americans see the situation somewhat differently than Republicans, according to a recent survey by the SSRS institute for CNN. According to this, 60 percent of those surveyed support the charges against Trump. However, more than three quarters of those surveyed say that political motives probably played a role in the indictment.

Chief prosecutors like Trump prosecutor Alvin Bragg are elected to office in the United States. Bragg is a supporter of the Democrats, which many Republicans believe makes him biased and vulnerable. Bragg plans to speak at a press conference after the indictment is read out.

The New York case is more than inconvenient for Trump and could one day end up in a jail cell when all legal remedies have been exhausted. However, an indictment or conviction does not disqualify him – at least legally – from running for the presidency.

However, Trump still has a number of other legal construction sites. These include, for example, the investigations of a special investigator into his handling of secret government documents. Some legal experts say Trump could no longer be president if convicted in this matter. US media only reported on Monday that investigators had collected new evidence such as notes and photos. Experts assume that the investigations are in the final stages – and that another indictment against Trump may be imminent.