Merrick Garland stops in Bucks County hours after Trump indictment. Here's why

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spent about 45 minutes Tuesday night learning about the Bensalem police department, hours after former President Donald Trump was indicted for conspiring to steal the 2020 election, including the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

Garland did not take questions from the media during his appearance at Bensalem's National Night Out celebration, which he attended with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. The event was held at the Bensalem pavilion off Byberry Road.

Earlier at a National Night Out event in Philadelphia, Garland said the Justice Department’s investigation that led to the new indictment “followed the facts and the law wherever they lead.”

"Any questions about this matter will have to be answered by the filings made in court," he said.

Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith last year to take over the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s efforts overturn the election results. Garland said the investigation, which led to Trump facing four charges of conspiracy and obstruction, was the largest in the department’s history.

National Night Out is an annual community building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to create safer places to live. The annual program, which is marked on the first Tuesday of August, started in 1984.

Bensalem Director of Public Safety William McVey said that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia sends a representative to attend their National Night Out event. On Friday, he learned that this year Garland would be participating as well.

The attorney general, who wore a jacket but no tie, was shown police vehicle and crime scene displays, the departments "copsicle" ice cream bus, and watched drone and K9 demonstrations, McVey said. He also engaged with the dozens of community members who attended.

McVey added that Garland wanted to get a sense of how the police and community in a local community interacted.

Earlier on Tuesday a federal grand jury indicted Trump on four felony charges in connection with his efforts to subvert the 2020 Presidential election. The former president, now facing his third criminal case, denied wrongdoing Tuesday and denounced the indictment as an attempt to derail his 2024 presidential candidacy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Merrick Garland keeps public appearance in PA after Trump indictment