Purported Trump robocall helped ignite violent protest against COVID-19 restrictions in New York: report

A robocall claiming to be at the behest of President Trump called on hundreds of New York's Orthodox community to take to the streets and protest Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the city's lockdown orders, according to the New York Daily News. The protests later became violent.

A man in the robocall using the name Chaim Hersch Golderberger said that the Trump campaign is "urging everybody to come out with signs: ‘Cuomo killed thousands.’”

“Come to 13th Avenue and hold big signs — ‘Cuomo killed thousands’ — as many as possible, as big as possible,” the voice in the call said. "The Trump campaign is urging us to hold as many and as big signs as possible. Please send this message around. Make it go viral.”

Cuomo slammed Trump for his alleged involvement in the call, accusing the campaign of wanting to "inflame divisions" while putting people's "lives at risk." But a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, Samantha Zager, told the Daily News that the campaign "had no involvement in this."

Political consultant Menashe Shapiro confirmed to the Daily News that the robocall has been making the rounds in Orthodox Jewish community in WhatsApp groups.

“There are these WhatsApp groups with hundreds of people,” he said. “This was making it through these groups.”