New York City on alert over possible Trump indictment

Concerns as ex-president urges supporters to protest over his looming arrest’

NEW YORK  - Barricades went up around a Manhattan courthouse on Monday as New York City braced itself for a possible indictment of former US president Donald Trump over an alleged hush-money payment to a porn star during his 2016 election campaign.

The barriers went up in preparation for what would be the first-ever criminal case against any former or sitting president in the United States, two days after Mr Trump urged his followers on social media to protest against what he said was his looming arrest.

In his call for protests, he raised concerns for law enforcement that his supporters might engage in violence similar to the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol in Washington.

Fearing a trap, however, several far-right grassroots groups have opted not to heed his call, security analysts said.

A grand jury, which heard further testimony on Monday, could bring charges this week over the payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Mr Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the White House again in 2024, had predicted he would be arrested on Tuesday.

On Monday, the grand jury heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who said Mr Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen had handled the hush-money payments without the former president's involvement.

"Michael Cohen decided on his own that's what he told us - on his own, to see if he could take care of this," Mr Costello told reporters after testifying to the grand jury at the request of Mr Trump's lawyers.

Mr Cohen, who testified twice before the grand jury, has said publicly that Mr Trump directed him to make the payments on his behalf.