Dozens of protesters took to the streets and airwaves Thursday to take Donald Trump’s side after the former president was found guilty of 34 felony counts by a Manhattan jury.
The 2024 election cycle entered uncharted waters this morning following Trump’s hush money trial.
Despite his new criminal record and pending sentence, the former president’s base of support remains unwavering.
Many were protesting yesterday’s news outside of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. According to WPLG Channel 10, at least one of those attending, Leona Mangan, had been at the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
A large number of Trump supporters flooded his campaign website with donations after it labeled the 2024 presidential candidate a “political prisoner.”
Many of those who posted shared Trump’s sentiment, which he stated at a press conference immediately following the verdict, “This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It’s a rigged trial, a disgrace.”
The New York Times reported that the former president’s supporters filled the internet with upside-down flags, a symbol of protest that also hung outside the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Lawmakers from across the country, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell spoke out against the verdict. “[ The charges] should have never been brought in the first place,” McConnell said, according to the Associated Press.
