Trump Supporters, Detractors Protest Outside Manhattan Courthouse Amid Arraignment

Former President Donald Trump turned himself in to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on April 4, where he was set to be arraigned. This led to protesters gathering both for and against his indictment across the street from the courthouse.

On one side of Collect Pond Park, protesters chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!” while on the other side, Trump supporters gathered to show solidarity with the former president.

Among the supporters was David Rem, who has known the Trump family since 1974 when his father died, and who attended the same private school as Trump. Rem recounted a time when Trump’s father helped with his tuition. According to Rem, that experience shows why Trump continues to endure the events surrounding the indictment. Rem believes that Trump is running for the 2024 presidency because he loves the country.

However, Trump’s indictment is a cause for concern among his detractors. It is widely believed that Trump will face charges of falsification of business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Supporting Trump

David Rem pushed back against the notion that Trump’s indictment was an embarrassment and argued that the charges are actually an embarrassment for the United States. He called for the resignation of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, criticizing Bragg’s alleged soft-on-crime policies, where many felony cases were downgraded to misdemeanors, he added that violent criminals do not serve jail time.

Detractors of Trump

New York resident Ozzie Hernandez and Long Island resident Tony Villar led the opposition, calling Trump a “walking felony” and saying he should face justice. Tony Villar noted that protesting is important because conservatives use “authoritarian” suppression tactics to intimidate detractors into silence. Villar thought that the indictment would be good for the country, stating that nobody is above the law. He also believed that the indictment would hurt Trump’s chances of winning the presidency in the 2024 election.

Clash of Opinions

The protests remained largely peaceful, save for a few scuffles. In one incident, a Trump supporter tried to pick up a giant banner that stated “Trump Lies All the Time,” leading to an altercation. When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spoke in support of the former president, anti-Trump protesters heckled, shouted obscenities, and whistled in the ears of Trump supporters to drown her out.

Mayor Eric Adams warned Trump supporters against violence, mentioning that Greene is known for spreading misinformation and hate speech, telling her to behave. Rep. Greene denounced those actions in a tweet, calling for the arrests of those who commit assault during peaceful protests.