If former US President Donald Trump is prosecuted and appears in court on Tuesday, New York City officials plan to close critical streets in lower Manhattan as a security precaution.
According to reports, the US Secret Service is coordinating security measures with the New York Police Department in the event that former President Trump is arrested and prosecuted in an open courtroom in Manhattan. According to people briefed on the negotiations, the agencies addressed logistics, including court security and how Trump may surrender for booking and processing.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said on Twitter on Thursday that “NYPD and other law enforcement agencies have been planning and coordinating intensively for this moment. New York City is ready. If there is a Trump mob, they have lost the element of surprise.”
Earlier Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he was “confident” the city is prepared for any protests related to a potential indictment of the former president.
“We are monitoring comments on social media, and the NYPD is doing their normal role of making sure there is no inappropriate actions in the city,” Adams said Monday at an unrelated press conference. “We are confident we’re going to be able to do that.”
Trump, the first former US president to be indicted, is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, a grand jury appointed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who had been investigating Trump’s role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, found that there was enough evidence to indict him.
Trump, who is competing for the Republican presidential nomination next year, has denied any wrongdoing and termed the investigation and indictment a politicised attack. Bragg is a registered Democrat.
On Friday, a team of Secret Service personnel and New York Police Department officials examined the courthouse and its entrances, ostensibly mapping the former president’s movement through the complex.
