Campaign shares plans on how Trump will turn himself in
Former President Donald Trump is expected to turn himself over to local law enforcement on Tuesday. Plans are in motion for the unprecedented arraignment in New York.
According to a rough schedule shared by the campaign, the ex-president plans to depart his private Mar-a-Lago estate midday on Monday and take his private plane to New York.
He then plans to spend the night at his Manhattan penthouse at Trump Tower and then will head to the courthouse early in the morning on Tuesday. His arraignment is expected to be around 2:15pm, according to a law enforcement official.
The campaign says he will spend his weekend at home in Palm Beach, and he plans to return after business at the courthouse is complete. Over the weekend he will keep his usual schedule — which almost always includes an evening dinner on the club’s patio with his family and associates and golf at his nearby clubs.
Trump has been indicted on charges related to the Manhattan district attorney’s grand jury investigation into alleged hush money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels. The exact charges are still under seal.
His campaign does not have any other public events planned for Monday and Tuesday. Trump, according to his campaign, will be “back at it” on Wednesday. So far, the only major event on his calendar is a speech at the National Rifle Association conference mid-April in Indianapolis.
Since news of the indictment, Trump’s campaign has worked to drum up support with fundraising appeals and the coordination of surrogates and lawyers on T.V. They are bracing for what will likely be a media spectacle as Trump turns himself in.
In a sign of Trump’s successful appeals, his campaign announced on Friday that it raised $4 million in the first 24 hours following news of the indictment. A press release from the campaign noted that "25% of donations came from first-time donors" and the average contribution was only $34.
The Trump campaign is also keeping tabs of others who are trying to financially benefit off of the indictment. Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump campaign adviser, has been calling candidates and campaigns raising money off the news and telling them to stop, according to a person familiar with campaign discussions.
Law enforcement officials in Manhattan braced for potential unrest next week surrounding the arraignment of Trump, beefing up security in and around Lower Manhattan. Officials were discussing blocking off the streets around the courthouse and removing all cars in the case of a bomb threat, according to a law enforcement source.
Some 40 press vehicles that have been parked outside the courthouse since last week would make it difficult to secure the area, according to the source, who added the former president planned to arrive via motorcade.
Dozens of court officers along with NYPD units were stationed outside Manhattan Criminal Court Friday, where the District Attorney has his office. Inside the courthouse, court officers patrolled almost every floor, with the 15th floor where trials take place, closed off to reporters and the public.
“The bottom line is that everyone is working overtime, it’s a stressful situation, there are a lot of crazies out there. A woman pulled a knife on someone the other day, so we are on high alert,” said Dennis W. Quirk, President of the New York Court Officers Association, referring to a Trump supporter who pulled a knife on a family with small children Wednesday. “Our job is to get this done as quickly as we can, and make sure that no one gets hurt.”
Remarks from the former president ahead of the indictment along with more recent calls for protest from Republican leaders added to concern.
“New York put your MAGA hats on. Under our constitutional rights, we WILL support President Trump and protest the tyrants. I’ll see you on Tuesday,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in a tweet Friday.
Greene’s tweet came after Trump called on supporters to protest the indictment and predicted“potential death & destruction” if he was charged for his alleged role in a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Additional reporting from Erica Orden and Alex Isenstadt.