Between Al Capone, telenovela stars and a long list of narcos, Miami has had a long history of high-profile defendants. But none like Donald Trump.
As the former president prepares to appear in city court on Tuesday to face criminal charges, Miami police are gearing up for crowds ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 people, said chief Manuel Morales. As of Monday afternoon, there were no plans for street closures or barricades, which will depend on the size of the gatherings, according to Morales.
“We know there is a potential of things taking a turn for the worse but that’s not the Miami way,” Morales said at a press conference flanked by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “What we really don’t want is to inconvenience anybody.”
Authorities are taking precautions as Trump is set to appear before a federal magistrate and enter a plea to a 37-count indictment accusing him of mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.
Miami’s preparations so far stand in contrast to New York last April, when Trump showed up in court for his first indictment on separate criminal charges. At the time, large groups of both protesters and supporters gathered nearby and several city blocks were closed to traffic.
On Monday, only a handful of the faithful had shown up in Florida in Trump’s support, including a few people wearing MAGA hats and American flag regalia. They were far outnumbered by the about 40 tents erected to serve as makeshift broadcast studios.
A rally at the gates of Trump’s Doral golf resort a few miles west, where the former president arrived Monday afternoon, drew no more than 50 people.
Trump loyalists are promising a show of force Tuesday, as part of a national call put out by Trump himself. He told Roger Stone — who was pardoned by Trump in 2020 following his conviction on making false statements, obstruction and witness tampering — on his radio show on Sunday that “they have to go out and they have to protest peacefully.”
“We are here to support him because we feel he did a good job when he was president,” said Lou Marin, executive vice president of the pro-Trump Florida Republican Assembly, who’s organizing a caravan of supporters from Orlando. He has reserved 10 buses to take supporters to Miami.
“Tomorrow will not be a J-6,” Marin said, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. “We’re going down there to do our thing and then go home.”
--With assistance from Patricia Hurtado and Mark Niquette.
