As Donald J. Trump was taken from his Florida home by motorcade past cheering supporters on Monday to fly to New York for his arraignment, Mayor Eric Adams held a news conference at City Hall with a very different tone.

Mr. Adams warned Mr. Trump’s supporters — particularly Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene — to behave themselves at protests and rallies.

“Although we have no specific threats, people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is known to spread misinformation and hate speech, she stated she’s coming to town. When you’re in town, be on your best behavior,” Mr. Adams said.

In a midday news conference at City Hall, the mayor singled out Ms. Greene, a conservative Republican from Georgia and staunch Trump supporter who has criticized the decision to indict Mr. Trump. She has advertised a demonstration planned for Tuesday with Jack Posobiec, an internet conspiracy theorist, and Graham Allen, a right-wing commentator.

While the mayor and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that authorities have received no specific threats, the city has been readying itself for protests and plans to close streets and barricade demonstrators. All uniformed officers have been placed on alert.

“While there may be some rabble-rousers thinking of coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: Control yourselves,” Mr. Adams said. “New York is our home and not a place for your misplaced anger.”

Mr. Trump, the first American president to be charged with a crime, is expected to stay overnight at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue before heading to Lower Manhattan on Tuesday to surrender at the office of the Manhattan district attorney and then be arraigned in the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building.

Mr. Adams reassured New Yorkers that the Police Department was equipped to handle Mr. Trump’s two-day visit, whatever may unfold. He urged residents to go about their normal routines.

“New York City is always ready,” he said.

As Mr. Trump’s motorcade made its way to the airport in Florida, cheering supporters lined the roadways waving American and Trump 2024 flags. At La Guardia Airport in New York, reporters gathered to observe the former president on the other end of his trip.

In Midtown, at least 100 reporters, photographers and camera crews squeezed into a press pen made from police barricades near Trump Tower to await Mr. Trump’s arrival. Streams of New Yorkers and tourists squeezed along sidewalks to gawk and take pictures.

Everyone seemed to have an opinion, including Ariel Kohane, 51, who was one of more than a dozen demonstrators planted behind two large pro-Trump banners. Mr. Kohane, of Manhattan, said he showed up to “voice my outrage over what even some Democrats are saying is political persecution.”

“This has nothing to do with law and order,” he said. “It’s about stopping him from running and winning in 2024.”

Dion Cini, 54, appeared on the corner of East 56th Street and Fifth Avenue wearing a red “Make America Great Again” baseball hat and “Ultra Extreme MAGA” T-shirt.

“Give me liberty or give me death,” he yelled.

For some people simply trying to go about their day, the disruption fanned anti-Trump embers into flames.

“Good lord, it makes you hate this guy even more,” said Nick Jones, 48, of Minneapolis, as he attempted to navigate the tight spaces on the sidewalk.

Chelsia Rose Marcius, Nate Schweber and Michael Regan contributed reporting.

Source: Read Full Article