WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of Donald Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, said Friday she will travel to New York next week to protest the former president’s indictment and urged other supporters to join her.
“I’m going to New York on Tuesday. We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT!” Greene tweeted to her 663,000 followers.
The Tuesday protests would come on the same day Trump’s attorneys have said the former president and 2024 Republican presidential front-runner is expected to be arraigned in court. A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on Thursday for making alleged hush-money payments to women who claimed to have had relationships with him.
Greene's call for protests is a reversal for the conservative firebrand and Trump loyalist, who less than two weeks ago pushed back on Trump's own call for his backers to “Protest, take our nation back!”
She then said on Twitter that Trump supporters "don’t need to protest about the Communists Democrat’s planning to arrest Pres Trump and the political weaponization of our government and election interference."
A day later, Greene told reporters she had no plans to travel to New York to protest and urged others to join her at a Trump campaign rally in Texas that week.
“I’m not going to New York. I’m going to go to Waco, Texas, and I’m going to join up with a bunch of people that support President Trump,” Greene said in Orlando.
“Because Save America rallies are like a great, big love fest. We’re all just saying how much we love America and President Trump. I don’t need to protest.”
It’s unclear why she changed her position about protesting in New York City, though she regularly speaks to Trump by phone and is a frequent visitor to Mar-a-Lago. A Greene spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
So far, no other GOP lawmakers have said they are planning to join Greene at protests in New York, though security had already begun ramping up in response to Trump's indictment. The New York Police Department ordered every member of the force to report in full uniform beginning Friday morning, according to a police memo. That includes 36,000 officers and 19,000 civilian employees.
Greene's remarks come as Trump has been reaching out to GOP allies on the Hill to consult with them about the next steps in their public defense of his pending indictment. Trump has been checking in and engaged with those he is hoping will actively support his defense.
Trump spoke with both Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Gaetz confirmed on Fox News that he spoke with Trump and described the former president as “resolute and focused.” Meanwhile, Graham pled with Fox viewers to donate to Trump’s campaign to help with his legal defense.
Trump has actively cheered on the efforts by the GOP-controlled House Oversight, Judiciary and Administration committees, which are probing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation in Trump's hush-money payments.
Before delivering a Lincoln Day address in Gettysburg on Thursday night, Greene said in a message sent to reporters that Bragg "made a very dangerous, and in my opinion, illegal mistake" and that Trump would beat the charges.
"I’ve always stood by President Trump and I will stand alongside him in this fight because the truth every single Republican in America needs to understand [is] that they’re not just coming after President Trump. They’re coming after every single one of us," Greene said.
"And right now President Trump is the only one standing in the way and he’s the first one they want to take down."
