Trump warns 'death and destruction' could come if he is arrested

Donald Trump has warned of potential “death and destruction” if he is arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels

The former US president's message, posted early on Friday on Truth Social, is a further escalation in his violent rhetoric around the continuing probe in New York.

His latest attack was aimed at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is leading the investigation into a 2016 payment made to silence adult film actress Daniels before the presidential election.

Mr Trump called the prosecutor a “degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA”.

“Potential death and destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our country”, he said.

In Donald Trump's post on Truth Social on March 24, he suggests that 'death and destruction' could result from his arrest. Photo: Screengrab of Truth Social

Congressional investigators last year recommended that Mr Trump be criminally charged for his role in inciting the deadly January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. At least seven people died as a result of the attack.

Authorities in New York have been on standby since last weekend, when Mr Trump wrongly claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday.

He called for supporters to launch protests and “take our nation back”. But in liberal New York, these have mainly failed to materialise and it remains unclear if, or when, Mr Trump will face an indictment.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Mr Trump in 2006. He denies the affair and any role in buying her silence.

Mr Trump on Thursday called Mr Bragg an “animal” backed by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is at the centre of many far-right conspiracy theories.

He also shared a juxtaposition of two photos, one of him holding a baseball bat and the other of Mr Bragg. That post appeared later to have been deleted.

Former president Donald Trump calls the Manhattan district attorney an 'animal' on Truth Social. Photo: Screengrab of Truth Social

The district attorney has said that Mr Trump created a “false expectation” of his imminent arrest.

New York police have erected barricades outside Mr Bragg's office, Trump Tower and the Manhattan Criminal Court, where the former president would eventually appear if indicted.

A man was arrested on Friday after a package containing suspicious white powder was delivered to the building housing the district attorney's office, police said.

Fox News, citing an unnamed police source, said the envelope contained a note stating: “Alvin — I’ll kill you.”

There were no reports of injuries.

In a statement in Politico’s New York Playbook newsletter, civil rights leaders including Al Sharpton called Mr Trump’s comments an effort to “burn down the greatest values of our democracy and destroy honest, ethical officials performing their constitutional duties” to avoid accountability.

In a separate criminal investigation, Mr Trump's lawyer Evan Corcoran arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington on Friday to appear before a grand jury probing a possible obstruction of justice charge and whether classified documents were mishandled after the former president left office.

Donald Trump's Truth Social feed — in pictures

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed

Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.