A small band of President Donald Trump’s supporters demonstrated Thursday outside a federal courthouse in Washington hours before he was set to be arraigned on criminal charges.
They were joined by a lineup of media tents, television cameras and an anti-Trump demonstrator with a megaphone who shouted profanities about Mr. Trump and chanted: “Lock him up!”
Pro-Trump activist Dion Cini of New York arrived in a limousine that was adorned with the presidential seals. He called it the “MAGA Beast.”
Mr. Cini, 54, stepped out of the vehicle and held up a large banner that read “Trump ‘24 President.”
“Trump’s probably going to get another five points in the polls today,” Mr. Cini told The Washington Times, predicting the charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election would boost Mr. Trump’s poll numbers the same as previous criminal charges did.
“DeSantis will probably go down two or three points because that’s what usually happens in every indictment,” he said. “This is another good day for us because the Democrats think they’re actually accomplishing something not realizing that it’s just gonna backfire on them.”
Mr. Cini was accompanied by a man wearing a Trump mask. He called special counsel Jack Smith’s four-count indictment against Mr. Trump “false charges.”
“They just don’t want him in office. They know that he’s going to make America great again and they don’t want that,” said the man in the Trump mask.
Another demonstrator flew a banner reading: “Finish the wall.”
A pickup activist dubbed the “Truck of Trump” arrived on the scene. It was wrapped with “We The People” logos and circled the courthouse while its occupants cheered on Trump supporters on the streets.
A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Mr. Trump on four criminal charges stemming from his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The four-count, 45-page indictment accuses Mr. Trump of engineering three schemes to stop President Biden’s election victory and remain in office. Mr. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.
A group of about 10 anti-Trump activists from the liberal organization Indivisible chanted, “Lock him up!”
Among them, Miami resident Dominick Santana paraded in a black-and-white striped inmate outfit and hoisted a sign that said: “You do the crime, you do the time.”
“You’re dealing with the master of spin. OK? He’s a New York graduate with a master’s degree from the School of Rats. He knows how to defend himself,” said Mr. Santana, 61.
“He doesn’t need lawyers. What is he talking about right now? ‘Oh, this is for political reasons. This is a witch hunt.’ You know what’s going to happen? I’m afraid they’re gonna release him, and they’re going to give him a slap on the wrist.”
Source:Washington Times
