Trump Supporters Plan Rally Despite Fears of Protest 'Trap'

Supporters of Donald Trump have planned a rally on Monday in response to a potential indictment of the former president, despite fears of a "trap."

On Monday morning, the New York Young Republican Club sent out an email which was obtained by Newsweek, announcing a planned "peaceful protest in response to the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's heinous attack on President Donald J. Trump and the legitimacy of the American judicial system." The memo says the protest is scheduled for Monday evening at 6 p.m. EDT with a location pending.

The announcement comes ahead of an expected indictment and possible arrest of Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney's office for an alleged connection to hush money payments previously made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

In a Truth Social post over the weekend, Trump said that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and criticized Bragg.

Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump arrives for an event at the Adler Theatre on March 13, 2023 in Davenport, Iowa. Inset, an NYPD truck carries metal barricades en route to Manhattan Criminal Court on March 20,... Scott Olson; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

"NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!" Trump wrote.

While Trump called for protests in his Truth Social post, some other social media users have spoken about a potential protest and if it could be a "trap" that would lead to further arrests of the former president's supporters.

Twitter user Paul Joseph Watson shared a screenshot of a poll he conducted on Truth Social asking followers if they thought a protest would be similar to a January 6 "style trap." The results showed that 85 percent of respondents believed it would be a trap.

"FYI: The last time Trump's biggest fans protested on his behalf, he left them all to rot in jail without so much as a penny from him in legal fees. Not a penny. Shame on him for this. Do NOT go to a blue area and protest for this man. Ignore this," conservative commentator Jesse Kelly wrote.

Mike Cernovich, a far-right political commentator wrote, "Unlike J6'ers, Trump can afford lawyers. (Tho he has a history of stiffing people on legal bills.) There is 0 to do other than allow him to defend himself in court. Unless y'all really want to become stars in a sequel to January 6th. I can't believe this isn't obvious."

Similarly, Twitter user Steve Deace, a host on BlazeTV wrote, "If you're dumb enough to walk right into a fed trap with a "protest" on behalf of the banana republic they want to do to Trump, please at least be smart enough to secure legal counsel beforehand. And make sure his name isn't Ray Epps."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also responded to potential protests and said "I don't think people should protest this...and I think President Trump, if you talk to him, he doesn't believe that either."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson for comment via email.

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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more

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