House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters that Americans should not protest if former President Donald Trump is indicted in the coming days—coming after Trump called for his supporters to protest the indictment.
Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that he could be arrested on Tuesday in connection with Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into a hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, McCarthy was asked about Trump’s Truth Social posts calling for protests. “I don’t think people should protest this stuff,” McCarthy said when asked about Trump’s statements online.
McCarthy said that Trump was merely trying to raise awareness for others to “educate people about what’s going on.” On Truth Social, Trump wrote over the weekend that people should “protest” and “take our nation back” before decrying the Manhattan District Attorney’s office probe as politically motivated.
“He’s not talking in a harmful way,” McCarthy told reporters. “Nobody should harm one another … And this is why you should really make law equal because if that was the case, nothing would happen.”
“If was this to happen, we want calmness out there,” the speaker added, calling for no “violence or harm.”
Some of Trump’s supporters, meanwhile, warned that demonstrators who show up in Democrat-run places like New York City could be jailed. Ali Alexander, one organizer of the “Stop the Steal” movement after the 2020 election, warned Trump supporters against going to New York City.
“You have no liberty or rights there,” Alexander wrote on Twitter, adding they would be “jailed or worse.”
He claimed he spoke with InfoWars host Alex Jones, who is “not protesting either.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) noted that federal agents could be mingling with would-be protesters. There has long been speculation that federal agents were involved in instigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
Greene said that Trump voters have the right to peacefully protest, but made clear to the left-wing news outlet that she takes umbrage with “federal agents [who] infiltrate political movements and attempt to incite political violence.” She also objected to the Manhattan DA’s investigation into the former commander-in-chief.
“With Trump supporters now recognizing that provocateurs and federal agents will attempt to infiltrate protests, my recommendation would be to go ahead and protest—but to tightly police your gatherings. Best to avoid the whole lot of ’em,” he said. “I would also tell people who show up in camo or khaki” military fatigues to “get lost,” the activist added.
A Manhattan grand jury is investigating alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Prosecutors have not said when their work might conclude or when charges could come.
Over the weekend, Trump wrote that he would be indicted on Tuesday, although the district attorney’s office has made no public comments about the matter. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and has long said he never had an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stepahnie Clifford.
“There was no ’misdemeanor' here either,” Trump wrote Sunday. “There was no crime, period. All other of the many Democrat law enforcement officers that looked at it, took a pass. So did Cy Vance, and so did Bragg. But then, much latter, he changed his mind. Gee, I wonder why? Prosecutorial Misconduct and Interference with an Election. Investigate the Investigators!”
