A bomb threat delayed New York court hearings as country awaits possible charges against Trump
Salvador HernandezMarch 21, 2023
An unfounded bomb threat in
l
ower Manhattan
on
Tuesday morning delayed a court hearing involving
former PresidentDonald
Trump as the city and much of the nation remained on edge over the prospects of protests or unrest in response to
hisa
possible indictment
of the former president
.
It was unclear if the threat mentioned Trump or his legal troubles, but the delay affected a hearing Tuesday morning involving a lawsuit filed by New York
‘s
Att
orne
y. Gen
.eral
Letitia James against Trump and several of his family members, accusing them of fraudulently inflating Trump’s net worth.
The threat was made in a 911 call that mentioned several locations in lower Manhattan, a spokesperson for the court told the Los Angeles Times. Several buildings, including the New York County Courthouse and the district attorney’s office, were searched by the New York Police Department.
“Operations were minimally affected for less than 30 minutes,” said Lucian Chalfen, spokesperson for the courthouse.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department had no information about the reported threat immediately available.
The unfounded threat comes as police in major cities across the country, including New York and Los Angeles, have already begun to take steps in response to the possibility of protests should the former president be indicted this week. A crowd control fence was erected outside the Manhattan courthouse where a grand jury has been convened over allegations that porn star Stormy Daniels was paid money to stay quiet about an affair with Trump.
The prospects of protests and unrest rose when Trump
without evidence
announced on social media last week that he would be arrested Tuesday by the Manhattan
d
istrict
a
ttorney’s office over the Stormy Daniels payout scandal. In an all-uppercase message to supporters through his social media
website, Truth Socialapp
, the former president called on his backers to
,
“PROTEST TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
Trump’s latest call to supporters echoed his calls for his backers to march on the U
.
S
.
Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he continued his false claims of election fraud over the 2020 presidential election.
More than 1,000 people were arrested in the Jan. 6 unrest, including 326 who were charged with assaulting, resisting
,
or impeding officers, according to the Department of Justice. More than 100 have pleaded guilty to felony charges, and another 385 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.
But those kinds of crowds have yet to be seen in response to Trump’s latest call to supporters.
One protest on Monday had reporters easily outnumber Trump’s supporters.
Still, supporters like former Trump advisor Roger Stone called on “peaceful” and “legal” protests across the country.
Other Republican leaders urged supporters not to protest, including House Speaker Kevin
McCarthy,McMcarthy
who on Sunday criticized the criminal investigation against Trump as politically motivated but said supporters shouldn’t be protesting over it.
