Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) said at a news conference Monday that the city was “ready” for any size crowds that may show up at former President Trump’s federal arraignment on Tuesday.
“Everyone has the right to peacefully express themselves and exercise their constitutional rights and obviously do it in a peaceful manner,” Suarez said. “But we also believe in law and order, and we hope that tomorrow will be peaceful. We encourage people to be peaceful.”
He added that the city would have the “forces necessary to enforce that.”
Depending on the crowd size, he noted that locals should expect “some road closures.”
The Miami Fire Department would also provide any services necessary to meet the city’s needs on Tuesday, including additional EMS staff on duty, Suarez said.
Trump was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Florida on 37 criminal counts regarding his retention of classified documents, including 31 counts for willful retention of national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, as well as one count of making false statements and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, one count of a scheme to conceal.
The grand jury’s indictment follows a search warranted raid on August 8 by FBI agents on Trump’s Florida country club residence, Mar-a-Lago. According to the unsealed indictment, agents found more than 100 documents marked classified during their search of the property. Boxes stored in places such as “a ballroom, a bathroom & a shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room” included classified information from such federal agencies as the CIA, Pentagon, NSA, and the National Reconnaissance Office, among others.
In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed veteran career prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel in the investigation.
While Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said Friday, “The Miami Police Department is ready to ensure the safety of the city,” security has been ratcheting up across the country as well amid escalating rhetoric that has arisen in the wake of Trump’s indictment.
FBI special agents have been actively working to identify possible threats, including plans for pro-Trump rallies in Miami, such as one outside the federal courthouse on Tuesday purportedly organized by a local chapter of far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, some of whose leaders have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the deadly January 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump himself stoked passions on Sunday at the GOP convention in North Carolina where he said, “You’re watching Joe Biden try to jail his leading political opponent,” and, “Never forget what the demented persecution of our movement is all about!”
He gave a similar speech in Georgia the day before, where he characterized his 2024 Presidential campaign as “the final battle.”
Tuesday marks the second time in just over two months that Trump is facing criminal arraignment.
In April Trump was arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy related to his role in hush money payments during the 2016 campaign season—a first in U.S. history. That indictment came down in New York State court.
The grand jury in Miami’s indictment is another historic first—the charging of a former U.S. President with federal crimes.
