It is well-known that former president Donald Trump often overstates the magnitude of his audiences. He has inflated the number of people that showed up to his many campaign rallies and presidential inauguration for years.
He is now making unsubstantiated accusations about security measures surrounding the Manhattan courthouse, which he is blaming for keeping these alleged supporters away, and he is also pushing an incredibly incorrect claim about the number of fans who have tried to attend his first criminal trial.
Thousands of people were turned away from the Courthouse in Lower Manhattan by steel stanchions and police, literally blocks from the tiny side door from where I enter and leave. This was Trump’s claim on social media on Tuesday, in response to a story in The New York Times that said he was unhappy with the small crowd he saw when he arrived at the courthouse for opening statements on Monday. Trump also denigrated a Times reporter and denied the story. A military base set up specifically to deter intruders.
“Lower Manhattan surrounding the Courthouse, where I am heading now is completely CLOSED DOWN,” Trump said on Monday’s social media post. Outside the courthouse on Tuesday, he said reporters, “For blocks you can’t get near this courthouse.”
It is important to note that all of Trump’s statements are unfounded. Although there have been a small number of Trump fans who have demonstrated around the courthouse, the authorities have not prevented “thousands of people” from entering the premises throughout his trial. Although there are certain security measures in the neighborhood, such as barricades and certain streets that have been closed by police, the statement “for blocks you can’t get near this courthouse” is not accurate. The trial’s official protest site is really a park across the street from the courthouse; furthermore, anyone is welcome to pull up to the front of the building and enter, as it is open to the public. The trial courtroom and the overflow chamber, which provide nearly live footage of the proceedings, are both accessible to the public if they arrive early enough in the morning.
According to AWN journalists covering the courtroom area, there are a small number of clearly pro-Trump protesters at Collect Pond Park, which is across from the building, but the number is far from “thousands.” At the beginning of the trial in mid-April, there were less than a hundred obvious Trump supporters there, and on subsequent days, there have been as few as three.
If not for oppressive security measures, Trump might have been implying that thousands would have been there. That, however, is absurd. Those who support Trump are welcome to enter the courthouse and the demonstration area, but they must, like everyone else, adhere to the standards of etiquette.
Despite what Trump has said, security isn’t really that tight.
Police have prohibited public access to some of the streets and sidewalks near the courthouse during the approximate hours that court is in session, and there are additional blockages during the brief periods of heightened security when Trump’s motorcade is arriving and departing for the day.
But other than those times when people are coming and departing, the area isn’t really closed off. During court hours, AWN’s live television footage from the location sometimes shows members of the public’s cars driving right in front of the courthouse.
“I took an Uber right to the front entrance of the courthouse yesterday morning,” conservative attorney and outspoken Trump opponent George Conway said on social media on Wednesday. The police and court officials are kind, the atmosphere is calm, and you and your dog would easily outnumber the Trump supporters if you took them for a stroll down the street.
