The Manhattan DA is investigating the hush payment made to Stormy Daniels
Sources report that the U.S. Secret Service and the New York Police Department are collaborating to prepare security measures in case former President Donald Trump is indicted and arraigned in a public courtroom in Manhattan.
Logistics such as court security and how Trump would turn himself in for booking and processing were discussed during a call between the two agencies on Monday, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
In New York, white collar criminal defendants are frequently permitted to negotiate a surrender.
On Monday, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, expressed certainty in the city's readiness to handle any demonstrations that may occur in response to a potential indictment of the former president.
"We are monitoring comments on social media, and the NYPD is doing their normal role of making sure there are no inappropriate actions in the city," Adams said on Monday at an unrelated press conference. "We are confident we're going to be able to do that."
Trump called for protests on his Truth Social platform on Saturday in response to what he claimed would be his impending arrest on Tuesday in relation to the Manhattan district attorney's investigation into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
In the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, allegedly paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump. In light of the former president's denial of the affair, the money has been characterized as an extortion payment by his lawyers.
According to sources who spoke to ABC News, after the Trump Organization allegedly reimbursed Cohen for the payment and then recorded the reimbursement as a legal expense, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is considering whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and described the payment as "a private contract between two parties.
Adams said city officials have heard "a lot of reports" about a potential indictment, but told reporters he has not met with Bragg nor discussed the matter with him.
There appear to be a few small protests being planned by various grassroots organizations, according to online posts. However, the "Stop the Steal" movement's conservative activist Ali Alexander has publicly stated that his organization will not plan any protests.
Sources in Palm Beach County, Florida told ABC News that if Trump were to be charged, the area around his Mar-a-Lago estate would see demonstrations.
A small gathering of Trump supporters gathered on the bridge connecting Palm Beach to the mainland on Sunday. If Trump were to be indicted, they reportedly stated that they would return on Tuesday with more people.
According to a Sunday intelligence bulletin from the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C., which ABC News was able to obtain, some extremists view the prospect of Trump's indictment as a "line in the sand."
"Potential criminal justice actions taken toward a former US president -- or actions perceived to be taken toward the former president -- remain a 'line in the sand' for Domestic Violent Extremists (DVE) communities and thus have the potential to manifest in violence toward government targets or political officials," said the bulletin from the DC Fusion Center, a threat intelligence group within the agency.
The bulletin mentions that Trump called for protests in a social media post "was met with an immediate increase in violent online rhetoric and expressed threats toward government and law enforcement targets perceived as participating in a political persecution of the former president, as well as calls for 'Civil War' more generally. Many of the alarming posts picked up by the DC Fusion Center described the possibility of the former president's arrest as a "red line" or "line in the sand" after which only violent action would be acceptable."
"This uptick in rhetoric associated with an alleged indictment against the former president represents the most significant 24-hour traction observed by the Fusion Center since the August 2022 search warrant service at Mar-a-Lago," the bulletin said.
The FBI says it doesn't have any additional information but is alerting local and state police departments across the nation about potential indictments of Trump. According to open source reporting, an indictment of the former president may happen in the upcoming week, and the FBI said as much in a warning obtained by ABC News.
According to the FBI, there is currently "no information to confirm this indictment or any information to indicate that violence or criminal activity is planned," and nothing "other than First Amendment protected action is being planned."
In a separate statement about potential violence, the U.S. Capitol Police stated that they have not observed "any current indication of threats directed at the US Capitol or Members of Congress" in relation to Trump. As it did leading up to January 6, 2021, the organization "has not yet seen any indication of large-scale organized protests and/or violence," according to the assessment, which ABC News was able to obtain. No American president, living or dead, has ever been charged with a crime.
Reference:
News, ABC. “NYPD, Secret Service Discuss Security Plans Should Trump Be Indicted.” ABC News,