'Rally behind MAGA': Trump encourages followers to 'protest at front steps of Courthouses'
April 22, 2024
Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to stage nationwide protests against his criminal prosecution as opening statements are set to begin in his hush money trial.
The former president has been indicted on 91 felony counts in four jurisdictions, and he complained Monday morning on his Truth Social website that he and his followers were being treated unfairly in comparison to pro-Palestinian protesters – 108 of whom were arrested last week at Columbia University.
"Why are Palestinian protesters, and even rioters, allowed to roam the Cities, scream, shout, sit, block traffic, enter buildings, not get permits, and basically do whatever they want including threatening Supreme Court Justices right in front of their homes," Trump posted, "and yet people who truly LOVE our Country, and want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, are not allowed to 'Peacefully Protest,' and are rudely and systematically shut down and ushered off to far away 'holding areas,' essentially denying them their Constitutional Rights. America Loving Protesters should be allowed to protest at the front steps of Courthouses, all over the Country, just like it is allowed for those who are destroying our Country on the Radical Left, a two tiered system of justice."
READ MORE: Revealed: Breaking our democracy is all part of the GOP plan to install a dictator
Protests outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump is being tried have been somewhat muted, with only dozens of supporters showing up, although a Florida man died Friday after lighting himself on fire in the designated protest area in Collect Pond Park.
"Free Speech and Assembly has been 'CHILLED' for USA SUPPORTERS. GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST," Trump posted. "RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY! “THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF.”
Trump is standing trial on 34 charges related to falsifying business records to conceal a payment shortly before the 2016 election to porn actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about an alleged extramarital affair, and he has also been indicted in federal court for mishandling classified documents and attempting to unlawfully overturn his 2020 election loss, as well as an indictment in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to overturn that state's election results.