Facing possible indictments, Donald Trump heads to Waco for first campaign rally Saturday

As speculation continues to swirl on whether he might soon get indicted in New York, former President Donald Trump is headed to Texas on Saturday for his first major 2024 presidential campaign rally.

The event, scheduled for 5 p.m. at Waco Regional Airport, about 100 miles north of Austin, will provide an early peek into Trump's messaging as he seeks the Republican nomination for president for a third straight election.

He was first elected president in 2016 and lost his bid for reelection to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

Marjorie Taylor Greene expected at Trump rally, other guest speakers unknown

A number of guest speakers, who the campaign has not publicly identified, will precede Trump's arrival. Signs point to one of them possibly being Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican U.S. Representative from Georgia, who is among Trump's most loyal supporters in Congress. Greene is scheduled to hold a fundraising event earlier in the day at a gun club near Waco.

The timing of the rally is raising eyebrows due to Waco's history with extremism and government overreach. Trump's arrival coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Branch Davidian compound's siege, where federal agents had a weekslong standoff with an anti-government cult. It ended in a botched raid that left 76 people, including 25 children, dead.

The campaign says it chose Waco as a campaign stop for logistical reasons, as the central Texas city of about 140,000 residents is a modest drive from many of the state's major metropolises. Waco is three hours from Houston and San Antonio, and under two hours from Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth. Waco is the county seat in McLennan County, which went for Trump in the 2020 election by a wide margin over Biden.

Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump attempting sabotage of rally via ticket reservations

Blogger Mary Trump, the former president's estranged niece, is attempting to sabotage her uncle's rally by encouraging people to get tickets and not show.

"If we book the 50,000+ venue, we can make sure most of the seats are empty when the traitor takes the stage. We can no longer fail to hold powerful men accountable for their crimes against our country,” she wrote Thursday on Twitter.

Waco city officials are expecting around 15,000 people at the rally.

Trump has not yet been arrested, warns of 'death and destruction' if charged

The visit comes at the end of an eventful week for Trump, who predicted, wrongly for now, that he would be indicted and arrested in connection to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump denies making the payment and insists the criminal investigation is a politically charged prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.

In a message Friday on Truth Social, Trump warned of "potential death and destruction" if he's charged in the probe.

"What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?" Trump wrote. "Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA!"

Poll finds Trump current favorite for Republican nomination for president in 2024

Trump, however, is arriving in Waco after a promising week politically, as a poll from Monmouth University found he is the clear favorite for the GOP nomination in 2024. When respondents were asked who they want to see as the nominee, 41% named Trump and 27% named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Most of the poll interviews were done before reports about the potential indictment.

The results marked a sudden turn for Trump, who was tied with DeSantis in a February poll and trailed him in a December poll. DeSantis has not announced his candidacy for president, though political insiders have said the governor's campaign launch is forthcoming.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Donald Trump holds rally in Waco, Texas amid possible indictment