Die-hard Trump fans station themselves near Mar-a-Lago. Key supporter: ‘Vitally important that you keep it peaceful’

As the world waited to see if former President Donald Trump’s prediction that he’d be arrested in New York on Tuesday would come true, some of his most die-hard supporters stationed themselves near his home base in Palm Beach.

A few dozen Trump supporters gathered on the Southern Boulevard bridge near his Mar-a-Lago resort and residence waving large pro-Trump flags and many more smaller Trump flags and American flags, blasting country music from speakers and talking to reporters. Passers-by honked their horns and waved, while others took pictures.

Some said said they weren’t there to protest, but to show support for the former president. “I don’t protest, I rally behind Trump,” said Nancy Sparks, 83, of Lake Worth.

On Jan. 20, 2021, the day Trump left office and President Joe Biden was inaugurated, about 1,000 people were on either side of Southern Boulevard from Dixie Highway to the bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway to show their support and welcome him home.

Sparks said she was surprised at the turnout on Tuesday. “I thought there’d be more people here,” she said.

Others said they didn’t believe the relatively small size of the gathering Tuesday showed any dampening of support for the former president.

Evelyn Knapp, 75, said it wasn’t bad for a weekday. “People are working,” she said. “I’m surprised this many people did show up.”

Her reason for attending: “You do need to support President Trump.”

Some demonstrators told WPEC-Ch. 12 and WPLG-Ch. 10 that they had spent the night at the gathering point to show their support for Trump.

In notices issued Monday and Tuesday the Town of Palm Beach warned people to expect traffic congestion near the traffic circle at the Bath & Tennis Court from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, and told drivers to seek an alternate route. That spot, is immediately south of Mar-a-Lago. Traffic was heavy at mid-afternoon, but it wasn’t tied up heading from South Ocean Boulevard onto the Southern Boulevard bridge.

Edward Amend of Pompano Beach was cycling across the bridge when he stopped to watch.

Amend described himself as “fiscally conservative and socially liberal,” thinks “anyone extreme to the right, anyone extreme to the left is equally off their rocker” and a supporter of Gov. Ron DeSantis. If Trump does in fact get arrested, it “absolutely” would be justified if he was “paying hush money to porn stars to cover up adultery.”

Trump’s plane, with his name emblazoned on the side, was at Palm Beach International Airport late Tuesday afternoon, suggesting he was still in South Florida. Meanwhile, Trump released a campaign video Tuesday in which he promised to “dismantle the deep state and reclaim our democracy from Washington corruption once and for all” if he’s elected president in 2024.

The prospect of a large demonstration was stoked by Trump, who wrote Saturday on social media that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest. He didn’t offer any evidence that he’d be arrested, and his lawyer and spokesperson said there had been no communication from prosecutors.

“IT’S TIME!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media feed. “WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA!PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

In another post, speaking about himself, Trump wrote: “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

One of Trump’s longest and most loyal supporters, Roger Stone of Fort Lauderdale, advised caution on the part of Trump supporters who are inclined to protest on behalf of the former president in the event of any arrest.

“It is vitally important that you keep it peaceful, you keep it civil, you keep it orderly and you keep it legal. The left would like to trick us into overreaction and violence and lawlessness so they can blame President Trump, and so they can scoop up America First leaders,” Stone said Monday night in an online “Prayers for Trump” video presentation. “I cannot stress that enough that we must keep our activities peaceful, respectful orderly and civil,” Stone said.

“They would love to entrap or entice or goad American patriots into violence or some other inappropriate act so that they can blame President Trump…. Do not take the bait folks,” Stone said.

Stone has known Trump for decades, and for much of the 2016 campaign, Stone was an informal adviser to Trump. In 2019, Stone was convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the U.S. House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia’s meddling in the 2016 campaign.

Trump pardoned Stone just before leaving office. Speaking on the prayer call Monday night right after Stone and former Gen. Michael Flynn spoke, Trump said he was “very honored to give them full pardons because they were treated horribly by government, these radical left lunatics.”

The former president added it was difficult to call in to the presentation. “The phones weren’t working too well just a little while ago. But I think probably it was that radical left that did something with them, and that’s OK because we’re going to beat ‘em and we’re going to beat ‘em all the time.”

A Manhattan grand jury has been investigating hush-money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with Trump.

Trump, 76, is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. An indictment, and the reaction of his supporters and other voters, could change the trajectory of the campaign.

People gathered near Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday weren’t interested in shifting their support to Gov. Ron DeSantis, an all-but-officially declared competitor for the Republican presidential nomination.

“DeSantis is my governor, but Trump is my president,” Sparks said.

Sherry Natch, a registered nurse from Lake Worth, agreed. She was confident that Trump will get the nomination, even though she supports DeSantis as Florida’s governor.

“We love DeSantis,” she said. “We need DeSantis right here.” Natch was holding a “Let’s Go Brandon” flag. The Brandon phrase represents and obscenity Republicans direct toward President Joe Biden.

Michael Pinson, 66, was much more skeptical of DeSantis, suggesting he’s more of a political insider than Trump. Pinson didn’t like the way DeSantis responded to the possibility of Trump’s arrest, saying he didn’t come out strongly enough in support. “I don’t trust him,” Pinson said.

The New York grand jury appeared to take an important step forward by hearing Monday from a witness favorable to Trump, presumably so prosecutors could ensure the panel had a chance to consider any testimony that could be remotely seen as exculpatory. The next steps were unclear, and it was uncertain if additional witnesses might be summoned.

Congressional Republicans on Tuesday stepped up attacks Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, for what they call “persecution” of Trump in the Stormy Daniels hush money probe.

As an indictment of Trump looms, the Republicans demanded Bragg unveil details of the probe and warned that they plan to summon him to testify about it on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif., speaking from a GOP congressional retreat in Orlando, accused Bragg of selective prosecution for going after Trump for the hush money scandal, claiming that other campaigns were fined and not prosecuted criminally for lying about the real purpose of expenses.

“In your heart of hearts, you know this is political,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday.

Republicans hope to shift the public focus from Trump’s alleged misdeeds to what they claim is Bragg’s overzealous pursuit of the former president.

But Democrats and legal experts say it is inappropriate for Congress to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation, particularly one being handled by a state prosecutor. U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., called GOP efforts to grill Bragg “an astonishing and unprecedented abuse of power” and accused Republican leaders of doing Trump’s bidding to derail the prosecution of him.

Information from The Associated Press and the New York Daily News was used in this report.