Donald Trump is set to hold a rally on Saturday as a grand jury in New York weighs whether to bring criminal charges against the former president for alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The event begins at 2pm local time (3pm Eastern) in Waco, Texas at Waco Regional Airport. Mr Trump is expected to take the stage around 6pm ET.
The possible indictment will undoubtedly be a focus for Mr Trump after he called on his supporters to protest and for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to be removed from office.
It is unclear if Mr Trump will use the backdrop of Waco as a point of significance. The town is marking the 30th anniversary of a massacre on a religious compound in the area which led to the deaths of 86 people.
Mr Trump’s campaign told USA Today that Waco had been chosen due to its central location in Texas, one of the earliest states to hold its presidential primary election in what’s known as “Super Tuesday”.
In 1993 an extreme religious group, the Branch Davidians, were raided by law enforcement agencies after members refused to let federal agents execute search warrants on their compound. The raid, and a fire which broke out, left 86 people dead.
The massacre has become a go-to example of abuse by individuals who fear extreme government overreach.
“I mean, they’re still talking about Waco as kind of this touchstone where they can refer back to as an example of extreme government overreach,” Stuart Wright, the chair of the Department of Sociology at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, told USA Today.
Edward Miller, a Northeastern University history professor, also told USA Today that the former president may use the rally as a way of "emboldening Far Right forces."
"Trump is using this to rally anti-government support. He just has an affinity with that element,” said the author and researcher of right-wing extremism.
