Trump's arraignment brings out crowds of supporters and protesters
NEW YORK - Hundreds of people gathered in Lower Manhattan Tuesday for dueling protests during the historic arraignment of former President Donald Trump.
The NYPD's weeks of planning and preparation for this day seemed to pay off; police say there were no major issues.
The park outside of the courthouse was a spectacle in itself Tuesday as a hodge podge of protesters, media and curious bystanders gathered to get a glimpse of history.
On one side were supporters of former President Donald Trump, including Rep. George Santos and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
"I'm here to protest and give my voice and take a stand. Every American should take a stand. This is what happens in communist countries, not the United States of America. We have to take a stand against the injustice, the corruption and the communist Democrats who are taking our legal code and twisting it, manipulating it and perverting it into something it was never meant to be," Greene said.
"I'm here in support of the president," Santos said.
"This is a witch hunt," Trump supporter Susan Miller said.
"I believe that Alvin Bragg needs to kind of, like, really have a change of heart," Trump supporter Diane Rivera Lopez said.
"I wanted to be here out of a sense of duty and gratitude, even though I took off from work and lost pay," Trump supporter Edward Young said.
On the other side were people opposed to Trump, including Rep. Jamal Bowman and and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
"I'm waiting for a few years from now when people are going to explain why they were so proud to be in MAGA costume, MAGA regalia. The same way they apologized for being in segregationist pictures, in pictures where they were trying to prevent people from being their true selves. It's a different iteration of the same time," Williams said. "It's important that as much as that shows America, the people I'm gonna be with also show America, always push this country to live up to what it says it is, not necessarily what its often doing."
The New York Young Republican Club led much of the demonstrations.
"This is a massive unprecedented change of direction for our country and we should have protests," said Gavin Wax, president of the New York Young Republicans Club. "We view this as an obscene overstep of the district attorney, the office that refuses to prosecute most violence offenses, but wastes taxpayer resources and energy to go after political opponents on very trumped up charges, no pun intended."
George Robinson, 76, came to support the indictment in his wheelchair.
"I was wounded in Vietnam, and 20-odd men were killed the day I was wounded, so I'm here on their behalf because even though we were teenagers then, we believed we were fighting for democracy. And I believe Trump and the people who support him want autocracy," Robinson said.
For moments Tuesday morning, the park became so crowded with demonstrators and media it felt like a mosh pit, but began thinning out after Trump left the courthouse.
The NYPD was in full force, patrolling from in, around and above the park, all the way up to Trump Tower.
While confrontations got heated at times, the scene mainly stayed civil, thanks in part to a divider of barricades set up by the NYPD.
"I came here to observe and be a peace bearer," one protester said.
"I'm really excited. Also, it's really tense," said another.
"This is what America's about, fairness is about. Freedom of speech, and that's why we're here today," Trump supporter Avery Pereira said.
A bright spot among all the division -- most people who spoke to CBS2 had a level of respect for protesters on the opposing side and almost everyone said they wanted demonstrations to stay peaceful.