The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Trump calls for protests of what he claims is his imminent arrest

But advisers to the former president said they have no specific knowledge of the timing of an indictment in the Manhattan case

Updated March 18, 2023 at 7:21 p.m. EDT|Published March 18, 2023 at 10:56 a.m. EDT
Former president Donald Trump said on March 18 that he expects to be arrested on March 21, but offered no evidence, and called on his supporters to protest. (Video: Reuters)
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Former president Donald Trump called for protests Saturday in response to what he claimed would be his imminent arrest in a Manhattan criminal investigation, even as his advisers said Trump’s team does not have specific knowledge about the timing of any indictment.

Writing from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, Trump surprised his advisers by posting an all-caps message on his Truth Social platform Saturday morning that declared he “WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” His language, along with a fundraising pitch sent out by his 2024 presidential campaign, echoed rhetoric that Trump used in advance of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by his supporters.