The New York City Police Department has ordered all officers to report in uniform Friday, despite the lack of any credible threats following the indictment of former President Donald Trump on charged related to two alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.
“It’s just in preparation for anything that could happen,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News.
State, local and federal agencies had previously been reported to be contemplating security measures in the event of Trump’s indictment, according to five senior officials cited by NBC News two weeks ago.
Trump had previous said that he expected to be arrested on March 21, and called for supporters to protest.
Trump is expected to be charged with an offense related to alleged improper payments to pornographic performer Stormy Daniels, according to NBC.
Specific details about the indictment are not yet available, because the indictment remains sealed, Fox said.
The agencies said at that time to be preparing were the NYPD, New York State Court Officers, the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, according to NBC.
Unnamed sources purported to be familiar with the deliberation described preparations for Trump’s first appearance at the Manhattan Criminal Court, according to Fox News.
The Secret Service and New York law enforcement were working out a process in which Trump will appear at the courthouse, Fox said then.
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The current state of those discussions was unclear Friday, but a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told Fox News: “This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”
George Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had previously indicated he was investigating Trump’s personal finances.
“Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal,” Fox reported Friday morning. “The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.”
Bragg has reportedly sought a meeting with other law enforcement entities to discuss the logistics of Trump’s court appearance.
Trump — who is actively running for a second, non-consecutive presidential term — has indicated that a criminal indictment wouldn’t affect his intentions to return to the White House.
“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” the Republican said of the possibility, describing a potential indictment as a partisan attack to neutralize his candidacy, according to The New York Times.
“This is not an indictment of a crime — there was no crime — instead, this news is the indictment of a failed nation,” CEO of Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC Taylor Budowich said in a statement cited by Fox.
“President Trump is promising to peacefully end the war in Ukraine, dismantle the deep state, and save our country by putting America first. For that, the political elites and powerbrokers have weaponized government to try and stop him.
“They will fail,” he predicted.
No former president has ever been charged or convicted of a crime in American history.
