Chaos outside Trump court as clashes erupt between MAGA fans and foes

Far-right US Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene spent roughly 10 minutes at a chaotic rally to protest the indictment of Donald Trump in New York City on 4 April as the former president faces a string of criminal charges.

The Republican congresswoman – and staunch Mr Trump loyalist – was joined by the New York Young Republican Club, a group with ties to embattled Republican US Rep George Santos, who made only a brief appearance at the rally before departing after he was mobbed by members of the press.

Ms Greene was also met by counterprotesters blowing whistles and banging noisemakers to drown her and others who addressed the crowd out. The New York Young Republicans, at one point, responded with a chant of “USA.”

Members of the press appeared to vastly outnumber Trump supporters and opponents in the small park in front of New York County Criminal Court, beginning a few hours before the former president arrived for his arrest and arraignment.

The largely uneventful rally saw only brief clashes between pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators; both camps were separated with NYPD barricades and community affairs officers between them.

Gregory Williams told The Independent that the indictment of the former president brings some truth to the idea that “nobody is above the law” and shows that there remains “some strength in our democracy.”

Another rally attendee, Mike Hisey, wore an orange prison jumpsuit and Trump mask and wig, which he has been wearing at demonstrations since before Trump was in office.

“I’ve been doing this seven years. I’ve imagined him in jail for seven years. Tomorrow’s my birthday, so it’s a happy birthday for me,” he told The Independent.

Counterprotesters played music (YG’s “FDT,” at one point) and chanted “guilty as f***” (at another point) while blowing whistles and hitting cowbells, making it nearly impossible to hear any of the speakers using a megaphone on the pro-Trump side.

A massive sign reading “TRUMP LIES ALL THE TIME” was draped on the ground among the crowd of counterprotesters.

Ozzie Hernandez, wading into the crowd of Trump supporters with a sign reading “TRUMP FELONY,” told The Independent that the former president’s “street name” is “felon.”

“He’s an albatross hanging on this country’s neck,” he said.

Ms Greene took aim at New York Mayor Eric Adams, accusing him of sending his “henchmen down here to commit assault against people by making loud noises.”

She urged Americans to “take a stand” during her brief speech, large parts of which were muffled by the sounds of counter-protesters.

She claimed that the government has been “weaponized” against Americans and said: “I’m here to protest and use my voice and take a stand. Every American should take a stand.”

“This is what happens in communist countries – not the United States of America,” she added. “We have to take a stand against the injustice, the corruption, and the communist Democrats.”

“They’re taking our legal code, twisting it, manipulating it, and perverting it into something it was never meant to be,” she said.

She proclaimed Mr Trump’s innocence and derided New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a “George Soros-funded tool” to “hijack the 2024 presidential election.”

Ms Greene soon left the rally and appeared on RSBN, where she compared Mr Trump to Nelson Mandela and Jesus.

Pro-Trump demonstrators – including QAnon conspiracy theoriests, opponents of the Chinese communist party and other Trump supporters across the American’s right-wing political spectrum – draped themselves in “MAGA” flags and other Trump-affiliated clothing. A neo-Nazi was spotted wearing a skull musk, shouting at others to watch Europa the Last Battle, an antisemitic film, according to HuffPost.

Some protesters were dressed up – there was Freddy Krueger, a version of Abraham Lincoln, and a man wearing an inflatable prison jumpsuit.

There was a circuslike and chaotic atmosphere at the arrival of scandal-plagued New York congressman George Santos.

“George, you should have shown up in drag!” one person yelled, the reporter tweeted.

When asked why he was at the rally, Mr Santos simply said: “Because I can be here”.

He also said no president was above the law, according to footage shared by Elizabeth Landers of Vice. Mr Santos then asked, “Where’s Hunter Biden’s indictment?”

When asked if Mr Trump should be held accountable if he has committed a crime, Mr Santos said, “This is not that crime, though”.

“This is old news,” he added.

Mr Santos left the area where the rally was set to take place before it had even begun, saying that he felt threatened and that it was too chaotic, according to Kadia Goba of Semafor.

Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show shouted questions at Mr Santos, according to footage posted by Jacob Shamsian of Insider.

“George, speak up, we want to hear the legitimacy you bring to this process,” Mr Klepper said. “George, are you worried that this is becoming a circus? George, talk about your time running a circus! George, thank you for your service!”

“George, did you get a law degree in the last two weeks that we don’t know about?” someone else shouted.

Protesters who both like and loathe Mr Trump applied their creative talents to make signs for the big day.

One such sign invited passersby to urinate on a small photograph of Mr Trump sticking out of the ground in a patch of dirt outside the courthouse.

Other protesters held signs showing their support for Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor whose 2006 affair with Mr Trump eventually led to the hush-money payment that resulted in the former president’s indictment.

“Once again Trump got caught with his pants down,” one sign said.

A few of the politicians in New York for the indictment have also attracted the attention of the protesting crowd. Ms Greene was greeted on her trip north with a sign mocking her as a dangerous escaped animal.

One Trump supporter burned sage in an apparent attempt to drive away “toxic” reporters. The same supporter was later seen attempting to tear up a banner saying that Mr Trump “lies all the time”.

New York Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman told The Independent that he was in Lower Manhattan to “push back against anything that represents hate in New York City”.

“Anything that represents white supremacy in New York City, and allies and the rhetoric and the divisiveness that Trump, that Marjorie Taylor Greene and so many others have represented since they’ve been in public life,” he added. “This is about the justice system doing its job. Trump made it political when he announced to the world that he is going to be indicted, and he called on people to protest, that made it political.”

He said the indictment was “one step towards accountability,” but added that “we’re very far away from [a] conviction. So we’ll see where that goes. But you know, America needs a reckoning and I think Trump is essential to that reckoning, when you consider his rhetoric, his behaviour and his policies”.

Prior to the demonstrations, Ms Greene hit out at the counterprotesters on Twitter.

“I’m here in NY to protest with my voice against the weaponization of the justice system on innocent President Trump, but the counter protestors are coming to commit assault that can cause audible damage to everyone’s ears including NYPD,” she wrote. “But Mayor Adams warns me by name! If counter protestors are violating freedom of speech and committing assault, they should be arrested.”

Mr Adams issued a warning to the congresswoman and other protesters descending on the city during a press conference on 3 April.

“People like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is known to spread misinformation and hate speech, while you’re in town, be on your best behaviour,” he said.

During her appearance on Steve Bannon’s programme on Real America’s Voice, Ms Greene claimed that Mr Adams sent “antifa” after her.

“He threatened me. The Mayor of NYC is a thug ... calling antifa to bring their whistles, pots and pans, to drown me out. Mayor Adams owes me an apology,” she said.

Her decision to lead Trump fans in protest marked a sudden change of heart for the lawmaker after she previously said that she did not think Americans should take such action.

Last month, Mr Trump took to Truth Social to claim that he was going to be arrested on 21 March and claimed on his followers to “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

But Ms Greene broke rank with the former president saying she did not think protesting was necessary.

“We don’t need to protest about the Communists Democrat’s [sic] planning to arrest Pres Trump and the political weaponization of our government and election interference,” Ms Greene tweeted. “These idiots are sealing their own fate in 2024 because the silent majority has two feelings right now about the current regime.”

Her change of tune comes after protests in support of the former president have so far fallen flat in the Democrat-led state.

On 30 March, when Mr Trump was indicted by a grand jury, only a handful of his supporters showed up.

As one may expect, search interest in “Donald Trump” rose significantly following news of his indictment. When using Google Trends to analyse the related search trends, there has been a rise in people searching for “where is Trump tower”, “Trump tower”, “Trump tower NYC” and similar wordings.

Interest first spiked in the late afternoon on 3 April, when increasing numbers of people started to Google search the location of Trump Tower on the day of Mr Trump’s arraignment.

Security was ramped up in the city and barricades were erected outside Manhattan Criminal Court in anticipation of potential unrest.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organization’s business records when his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen made the payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels.

Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump in 2006. Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.

Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress, and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

On 30 March, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump on criminal charges over the hush money payments. Since then, Mr Trump has railed against the indictment in statements and posts on his Truth Social platform.

Following his unprecedented court appearance, Mr Trump is expected to fly straight back to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to deliver a primetime address at 8.15pm ET.