Police outside the 100 Centre Street couthouse where Donald Trump is expected to face arraignment on Tuesday. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib
As local authorities brace for former President Donald Trump’s expected arraignment—and the anticipated demonstrations from both political sides—on Tuesday, the 1st Precinct’s commanding officer said Lower Manhattan will remain safe.
“As far as the First Precinct area, we have no intelligence that we’re concerned about but we do have increased patrols,” Capt. Thomas Smith said during a virtual Precinct Council meeting on Thursday. “We’re not going to be caught off guard so we’re ready for anything that’s going to come.”
On Friday, few demonstrators gathered outside the Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street where Trump will be arraigned, and news crews and photographers camped out across the street from the building outnumbered nearby police. But out of caution, the NYPD as of Friday ordered every officer to arrive for work in uniform and be prepared for deployment around the city. The courthouse’s 15th floor, where Judge Juan Merchan will preside over the arraignment, reportedly has already been closed off.
The ramped-up precautions follow a grand jury indictment of Trump on Thursday stemming from hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels by former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. Charges will be unsealed on Tuesday. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
“Officers have been placed on alert and the department remains ready to respond as needed and will ensure everyone is able to peacefully exercise their rights,” an NYPD spokesman said on Friday. Only one incident, on March 28, has been reported so far. A 39-year-old female Trump supporter was arrested and charged with menacing and harrassment after she allegedly threatened a woman with a knife.
“These places will be really tightly monitored through aviation and rooftop observation posts,” Robert Boyce, former NYPD Chief of Detectives, told ABC News. “We’ve got a lot of assets out there that can help us as well as video cameras in and around Lower Manhattan.”