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 protests Impeachment of the former president and urged other supporters to join her.
“I’m flying to New York on Tuesday. We MUST protest the unconstitutional witch hunt!” Green tweeted to her 663,000 followers.
Tuesday’s protests would come on the same day Trump’s lawyers have said the former president and Republican presidential nominee of 2024 is expected to be charged in court. A Manhattan grand jury on Thursday indicted Trump for allegedly paying hush money to women who claimed to have had relationships with him.
Greene’s call for protests is a reversal for the conservative arsonist and Trump loyalist, who less than two weeks ago hit back at Trump’s own call to his supporters: “Protest, take back our nation!”
She then continued Twitter Trump supporters “need not protest against the Communist Democrats’ plans to arrest Pres Trump and against our government’s political arming and election interference.”
A day later, Greene told reporters she has 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 will go to Waco, Texas and join a group of people who support President Trump,” Greene said in Orlando.
“Because Save America rallies are like a big, big love fest. We all just say how much we love America and President Trump. I don’t need to protest.”
It’s unclear why she changed her stance on the New York City protest, though she regularly speaks to Trump on the phone and visits Mar-a-Lago frequently. A Greene spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
So far, no other GOP lawmakers have announced they will join Greene at protests in New York, although security had already begun to tighten in response to Trump’s impeachment. The New York City Police Department ordered every member of the force to do so report in full uniform According to a police statement from Friday morning. Among them are 36,000 officers and 19,000 civilian employees.
Greene’s comments come as Trump has reached out to GOP allies on the Hill to consult with them on next steps in their public defense of his pending indictments. Trump has checked in and engaged with those he hopes will actively support his defense.
Trump spoke to both Sen. Lindsay Graham, RS.C., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Gaetz confirmed to Fox News that he spoke to Trump, describing the former president as “determined and focused.” Meanwhile, Graham asked Fox viewers to donate to Trump’s campaign to help with his legal defense.
Trump has actively applauded the efforts of the GOP-controlled Home Oversight, Judicial and Administrative Committees investigating Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump’s hush money payments.
Before delivering a Lincoln Day address in Gettysburg on Thursday night, Greene said in a message to reporters that Bragg made “a very dangerous and, in my opinion, illegal mistake” and that Trump would beat the charges.
“I have always stood by President Trump and will stand by him in this fight because the truth is something that every single Republican in America needs to understand [is] that they’re not just after President Trump. They’re 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 bring down.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Source : news.yahoo.com