Secret Service, NYPD vow 'highest level of safety and security' for Donald Trump's trial

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Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will have the “the highest level of safety and security," the Secret Service and New York police said Friday.

“Planning for high-profile security events is very familiar ground for the New York City Police Department,” Caban said.

Subdued protests of several dozen people surrounded Trump’s arraignment a year ago. He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide payments to silence two women who claimed to have had sex with him.

But the Capitol attack Jan. 6, 2021, raised concerns about security. Large crowds gathered in Georgia for arraignments of Trump and other defendants on election racketeering charges.

As a former president, Trump travels in a Secret Service motorcade with street closures and other security measures. His recent appearances at New York civil trials have gone off without a hitch. The criminal trial is estimated to last six to eight weeks.

New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban said longstanding relationships with the Secret Service and court system would secure the courthouse and ensure peaceful protests outside the building, along with keeping vehicle traffic and pedestrians moving safely.

Threats to judges

Threats have been made to judges and prosecutors in Trump’s cases. New York Judge Arthur Engoron got a bomb threat at his Long Island home the morning he ordered Trump to pay $454 million in a civil fraud lawsuit.

Michael Magliano, chief of the New York State Unified Court System, said court officials are experience handling high profile trials.

“The safety and security of all who enter our New York State courthouses is paramount,’ Magliano said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's NY hush money trial will have Secret Service detail