NYPD cops brace for chaos amid Trump arraignment frenzy

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Barricades placed outside Manhattan courthouse, Trump Tower ahead of arraignment

Laura Ingle reports on media frenzy outside of the Lower Manhattan courthouse and Trump Tower.

NYPD officers and courthouse police lined New York City streets early Tuesday afternoon in preparation for the expected public frenzy following former President Trump's arraignment. 

Officers and patrol cars alike were stationed along on barricaded streets ahead of Trump's much-anticipated court appearance. Videos of the busy city streets showed NYPD blocking off and surrounding the entrance to the Manhattan courthouse with helicopters also flying overhead. 

Media, protestors, and Trump supporters all crowded in front of the courthouse behind fencing. 

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NYPD officers gather outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on April 04, 2023 in New York City. Former President Donald Trump will be arraigned today following his indictment by a grand jury on charges related to money he paid in 2016 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.  (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

A number of protestors had already gotten into physical confrontations Tuesday morning. One woman wearing a "Make American Great Again" hat fell to the ground after trampling an anti-Trump flag on the ground near the courthouse.

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Opponents of former US president Donald Trump protest outside the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York on April 4, 2023. - Donald Trump will make an unprecedented appearance before a New York judge on April 4, 2023 to answer criminal charges that threaten to throw the 2024 White House race into turmoil.  (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP/ Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

The scuffles and anticipated chaos come ahead of Trump's scheduled arraignment after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week. The indictment comes as part of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's years-long investigation into his alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. 

Spectators line the streets outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital )

The exact charges have not been unsealed, but many expect prosecutors to argue that the $130,000 sum given to Daniels and $150,000 given to McDougal were improper donations to the Trump campaign, which helped his candidacy during the 2016 election.

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Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.