The former president told his followers to “protest” ahead of a likely indictment, summoning the specter of January 6.
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday alleged via his Truth Media platform that he will be arrested on Tuesday, calling for his followers to “PROTEST” and “TAKE OUR NATION BACK” in an echo of the capitol riots of January 6, 2021.
Trump’s all-caps post at 7:26 Saturday morning puzzled some close to his campaign, according to the New York Times. Though prosecutors in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have indicated that an indictment is forthcoming, Trump allies aren’t clear where the Tuesday deadline came from. But the call to arms does come ahead of a Saturday, March 25 rally in Waco, Texas — the first in Trump’s 2024 campaign — and contrasts with his posting on mainstream social media sites YouTube and Facebook.
Trump is likely facing indictment by a Manhattan grand jury for allegedly paying hush money in 2016 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair. According to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000, for which Trump’s business, the Trump Organization, later reimbursed him; an indictment from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office would focus on the attempt to cover up the payment by falsifying records.
Trump’s social media presence was significantly curtailed after the January 6, 2021 riots; Trump and far-right mouthpieces called at the time for the former president’s followers to take action as Congress certified President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 elections.
