Ex-U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to be arrested on Tuesday

The former U.S. president charged his supporters to protest his possible arrest and stop them from “killing our nation as we sit back & watch.”

ADEFEMOLA AKINTADE • March 18, 2023

Former U.S. President Donald Trump

Amid indictment of paying an adult entertainment star hush money, immediate past U.S. president Donald Trump has informed his supporters that he will be arrested on Tuesday and urged them to protest his release.

“The far and away leading republican candidate and former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week. Protest, take our nation back!” Mr Trump yelled in caps on his Truth social platform on Saturday morning at 7:27 a.m.

“They’re killing our nation as we sit back & watch. We must save America! Protest, protest, protest!!!” the former president bellowed in another post.

An official statement from Mr Trump’s team later explained the former president had made the post without knowledge of the exact day of his arrest but based on “illegal leaks from the Justice Department and the DA’s office.”

“President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponization of our injustice system,” the statement explained.

A $130,000 hush payment Mr Trump made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, with whom he allegedly had an affair, led to his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. Mr Trump has, however, denied the affair.

Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former lawyer and fixer was the middleman of the deal and is said to be the one who delivered the cash to Ms Daniels.

In 2018, he admitted guilt to violating the financial regulations governing his line of work and thereafter served a three-year jail term.

Mr Trump’s call to protest his release shares a similarity with the 2021 January 6 Capitol incident when he riled his supporters to protest Joe Biden’s election victory.

“Donald would have no reason to put out the statement unless he has been contacted by the DANY and advised accordingly,” Mr Cohen, who is done serving his sentence, told The New York Post on Saturday.

“Donald’s post is eerily similar to his battle cry prior to the January 6th insurrection; including calling for protest.

“By doing so, Donald is hoping to rile his base, witness another violent clash on his behalf and profit from it by soliciting contributions.”

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