By Maria Ortiz
Apr 16, 2024, 11:36 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump visited a Latin winery in Harlem, New York, on Tuesdaywhere he directly attacked District Attorney Alvin Bragg who is prosecuting him for the payment of hush money to actress Stormy Daniels and presented himself as tough on crime, a central theme of his campaign for the 2024 elections, in his first stop of campaign since his criminal trial began in Manhattan on Monday.
Trump met with a group of bodegueros (neighborhood store owners), mostly Latino, affected by a wave of robberies and violence that has cost the lives of workers and customers, after the second day of jury selection for his trial penal.
Trump visited the Sanaa Convenience Store, formerly Blue Moon, where in 2022 Dominican employee José Alba stabbed and killed a man during an apparent attempted assault.
Alba, who was not present today to receive Trump, was accused of murder, which caused outrage among winemakers and other sectors, who, like him, argued that acted in self defense.
The charges against the worker, who spent six days in Rikers jail, were dismissed shortly after by the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office after completing an investigation.
Criticisms against prosecutor Bragg
For months, Trump has tried to establish a distinction between his tough-on-crime stance and the felony charges he faces in four separate cases.
Outside the warehouse, he again attempted to dismiss his charges as political persecution, arguing that Bragg was too focused on the 2016 Trump campaign sex scandal cover-up trial and he was ignoring the crime in the city.
Trump, the unofficial Republican candidate for the presidential elections, was greeted by a large group that waited for him exclaiming “We love Trump,” an expression of affection that made him turn around and raise his clenched fist in victory while speaking to the press.
Trump was received at the warehouse by the president of the Association of Wineries and Small Businesses, the Dominican Francisco Marte, who said he appreciated the visit in a statement in which he criticized New York state legislators for refusing to toughen the punishment for repeat thieves.
The wave of violence in the bodegas (neighborhood stores), mostly owned by Dominicans, has reached a point where a group of these small merchants decided to get firearms and train in its use to defend yourself against criminals.
“Bodegas are a lifeline for underserved communities, and President Trump believes that only by undoing the Democratic Party’s soft-on-crime policies can law and order be fully restored to all boroughs of New York City,” he said. the Trump campaign in a statement.
The Trump campaign also highlighted that wineries, described as “the heart of the community” because they are a place of socialization for neighbors, have helped hundreds of immigrants and their families become business owners and achieve the American dream.
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