Big Apple is closing the hatches ahead of Trump’s possible arrest

The Big Apple is poised to shut the hatches and mobilize 700 riot police ahead of former President Donald Trump’s expected arrest earlier this week.

State, city and federal law enforcement have met over the past few weeks to discuss how to deal with the expected widespread protests following Trump’s arrest, as his supporters have already begun descending on Trump Tower.

New York City police are even considering deploying hundreds of riot police, reports the Daily Beast, amid fears Trump’s arrest could result in both MAGA conservatives and anti-Trump protesters clashing outside Manhattan Criminal Court while he is charged.

Trump faces criminal charges over $130,000 in payments his former attorney Michael Cohen paid to porn star Stormy Daniels towards the end of his 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say the payment violates campaign finance laws and was made to silence Daniels over an affair she was having with the mogul.

Several MAGA fans have now descended on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in a brazen attempt to avoid his arrest.

Former President Donald Trump (pictured here on Saturday) is expected to be arrested by New York State earlier this week over alleged hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels

Former President Trump has urged his supporters to “protest” as he claims he expects to be arrested as soon as Tuesday

Two of the former President’s supporters are pictured here in front of Trump Tower on Friday for the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City

New York City Police Department officials told the Daily Beast that they are closely monitoring social media and are working with federal and other law enforcement agencies to gauge the size of protests.

The force can deploy its “Strategic Response Group,” which consists of 700 members trained in “Disaster Response.”

And if necessary, they said, they could escalate the situation by deploying a Level 4 alert — which would put eight police officers and one sergeant on standby in every precinct across New York City.

At the same time, authorities may mobilize officers providing security at the state Supreme Court building in Lower Manhattan amid fears that both pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters will gather outside the Manhattan Criminal Court — leading to potential violence will result.

The NYPD and FBI are also coordinating a contingency plan to deal with an increase in threats to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his associates should some of Trump’s more extremist supporters target them.

And Secret Service agents in charge of Trump’s details in South Florida as well as in New York are tasked with coordinating how to get Trump through the crowds of protesters and media to the district attorney’s office.

Part of that discussion, CNN reports, citing those with knowledge of the talks, involved the need to secure an area outside of Trump Tower for a possible press conference.

New York police are now preparing for violent clashes outside Trump Tower if the former president is arrested

Trump posted this photo of his supporters at Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade to his Truth Social

A street performer named Crackhead Barney interacts with supporters of former President Trump at the parade

Dion Cini shows off a MAGA t-shirt after introducing himself as the regional White Lives Matter leader at the St. Patrick’s Day parade

A Trump supporter is seen here wearing Trump sneakers stepping on a poster emblazoned with the face of Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential challenger in 2024

Trump has said he expects to be arrested on state charges over the Stormy Daniels payouts as early as Tuesday as he urged his supporters to “protest, protest, protest.”

Some have already heeded that advice, planning a moat around Mar-a-Lago in South Florida to prevent his arrest, while others gathered outside Trump Tower in Manhattan.

In response, Manhattan District Attorney Bragg released a memo reassuring his office staff of their safety and claiming that law enforcement was on high alert to investigate any threats.

He did not use Trump’s name, but did mention that the threats were related to an “ongoing investigation by this office.”

“Please know that your safety is our top priority,” Bragg said in the memo, first reported by Politico.

“We will not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” he added.

Bragg previously presented evidence to a New York grand jury to pay Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair.

The payment was listed as “legal fees,” which Bragg’s office said violates New York City statutes that prohibit the forgery of business records.

Trump has repeatedly denied those claims, and his attorney has accused Daniels – real name Stephanie Clifford – of racketeering.

However, should he be charged, authorities would set a date and time for Trump’s surrender, after which he would be taken straight to an arraignment before a judge, where he would likely be released on his own.

And like every other defendant in New York, Bragg said Trump would be fingerprinted and taken for a mug shot.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured in February) said his office would not be intimidated as he considered filing criminal charges against the former president

The NYPD is preparing to mobilize its “Strategic Response Group,” made up of 700 members trained in “disaster response,” to confront protesters

Sources have previously told Fox News that as part of the arrest, the Secret Service will “take the lead” on what they will and won’t allow.

“Some sources familiar with the planning said they will be going through security preparations in and around the lower Manhattan courthouse,” Fox Corp. host John Roberts told viewers.

“The Secret Service will take the lead, which they will or will not allow,” the source warned, mentioning, for example, that the decision to handcuff the president, the former president, or not, they will call the shots and escort him into the courtroom.’

Under normal protocol, a defendant would be taken to a New York City courthouse and placed in a processing room.

They would then be briefly placed in a jail cell, booked, fingerprinted, photographed for a mugshot, and handcuffed.

From there, still handcuffed, they would be led into a courtroom in front of the media.

However, Trump is in a unique position as a former US President, which means he is protected by intelligence at all times.

It is still unclear whether he will be escorted into the courtroom by the court’s security staff or his secret service agents.

If indicted, Trump would become the first former US president to be prosecuted.