Republican Party leaders denounce Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for the indictment.
US law enforcement officials were on high alert Friday for possible violent protests by supporters of former president Donald Trump following news of his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday. The indictment marked the first time in American history that a current or former US president has faced criminal charges. Trump’s position as the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election further raises tensions concerning what comes next, including Trump’s chances to retake the White House from US President Joe Biden. Trump’s arraignment on charges stemming from an alleged scheme to pay hush money to an adult film actress is set for next week, reportedly on Tuesday. CNN cited one Trump lawyers as saying that the former president will “absolutely” voluntarily surrender to New York law enforcement and plans to file a legal challenge. Little more than two years after his supporters staged a deadly riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election – another event without precedent in modern American history – authorities in the US had been making quiet preparations ahead of the indictment to avoid any repeat mob action. Trump faces criminal charges in New York, a first for a US ex-president New York City officials had already been preparing for possible violence after the city’s police department and other local agencies received bomb threats earlier this week, which were determined to be unfounded. All New York police officers, “regardless of rank”, were ordered to report for duty on Friday and be aware of “unusual disorder”, NBC reported, citing a department memo. In Washington, barriers had already been erected around the US Capitol grounds after Trump asked his supporters to take action if he was arrested.
