One of the biggest fears in putting Donald Trump on trial in a criminal case was the possibility that his supporters could get violent, especially if Trump himself riled them up into a frenzy, as happened on January 6th.

And yet, at least in Manhattan, the crowds haven’t shown up. Obviously, there are reasons for this that might not apply to any other case (should the other criminal cases go to trial at all).

Manhattan itself isn’t exactly a bastion of conservatives, and it’s hard enough to get into for people who live there, never mind conservatives from out of town. Additionally, the Manhattan case is the least tenuous, least serious (in terms of possible prison ramifications), and has no connection to the federal government.

So, Trump has to explain away why it seems like no one cares. He has gone with the “It is impossible to even protest” defense, at least with respect to his support outside the courthouse.

He tried in a Truth Social post (Seen below):

“I’m at the heavily guarded Courthouse. Security is that of Fort Knox, all so that MAGA will not be able to attend this trial, presided over by a highly conflicted pawn of the Democrat Party. It is a sight to behold! Getting ready to do my Courthouse presser. Two minutes!”

Except, that is not exactly true. In fact, it’s not remotely true. CNN’s Kaitlin Collins, a reporter Trump isn’t a fan of, responded:

“Again, the courthouse is open [to] the public. The park outside, where a handful of his supporters have gathered on trials days, is easily accessible.”

Again, the courthouse is open the public. The park outside, where a handful of his supporters have gathered on trials days, is easily accessible. pic.twitter.com/HVOmWdcX6u

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 26, 2024

According to The New York Times, Trump has tried to rally his supporters by describing the proceedings as the type that threatens the country’s very existence, certainly the presidency.

Mr. Trump has portrayed his legal jeopardy as a threat to America itself, and he has suggested that the country would not put up with it. But the streets around the courthouse on Monday were chaos-free — well-patrolled and relatively quiet.

As his motorcade made its way to the courthouse, the few Trump supporters gathered in the park were outnumbered by Trump detractors, who waved signs about his alleged liaison with a porn star.

Supporters outnumbered by detractors? That doesn’t sound dangerous, but it also sounds like New York and the weakest case against Trump. No one should take anything away from the fact that Trump has few supporters in Manhattan.

CNN’s fact-checker Daniel Dale put the entire matter in context – but again, this means nothing when compared to a trial in Washington DC, Florida, and certainly Georgia.

“In reality, the designated protest zone for the trial is at a park directly across the street from the courthouse – and, in addition, people are permitted to drive right up to the front of the courthouse and walk into the building, which remains open to the public.

If people show up early enough in the morning, they can even get into the trial courtroom itself or the overflow room that shows near-live video of the proceedings.”

I am willing to bet that if you showed up early enough, you couldn’t get into Ft. Knox. This is all part of an intimidation strategy – Trump making it dangerous to file criminal charges against him. The charges are filed, but there are ways to get delays, as we’ve seen, and there is real danger when it comes to cases more closely linked to the federal government – the ones that really do threaten him with prison time.

Tragically, the people most likely to be hurt – if there is violence, and that’s not a given – are the innocent, just doing their jobs.

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Jason Miciak is Executive Editor of Political Flare and an Editor at Large for Occupy Democrats. He can be reached at [email protected]