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Staging his first public rally of the 2024 election cycle, President Donald Trump spent more time Saturday attacking the many criminal investigations against him – particularly the one in New York City that could lead to his indictment any day.
“They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you,” Trump told fervent supporters during a rambling speech in Waco, Texas, seeking support from his political base as he faces the prospect of becoming the first former president to face criminal charges.
The Waco rally – itself a source of criticism – came a week after Trump claimed he would be arrested by New York authorities in a case that revolves around hush money to an alleged mistress. That has not happened as a New York grand jury is reportedly continuing its investigation.
During the week, Trump repeatedly urged his supporters to protest the investigations in New York and elsewhere, exhortations that some lawmakers interpreted as calls to violence.
Trump did not make such a plea during a Waco speech that lasted some 95 minutes.
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Prosecutors in New York are investigating Trump over hush money to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence right before the 2016 presidential election. Investigators are looking into whether the payoff constituted an illegal campaign contribution that Trump tried to cover up.
Trump is also under investigation in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the insurrection by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
In Waco, Trump attacked – but did not name – Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has received death threats that included a letter with an undisclosed substance that was “immediately contained,” his office said.
Law enforcement agencies are preparing security plans in New York and Washington in the event that Trump is indicted.
The former sprayed attacks on an array of government agencies, from the Manhattan DA’s office to the Supreme Court itself, which has ruled against executive privilege and forced Trump to turn over documents to investigators.
Judges have also allowed prosecutors to question Trump lawyers about his handling of classified documents, another investigation that Trump is trying to blunt.
