According to NYPD spokesperson Tarik Shepard, former President Donald Trump is anticipated to attend the wake for slain New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller on Thursday afternoon, as informed to NBC News.
The wake for Diller is slated for Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Massapequa, Long Island. Diller lost his life on Monday in Far Rockaway, Queens, after he and his partner approached a vehicle unlawfully parked at a bus stop. The suspect inside the vehicle shot Diller below his bulletproof vest, as reported by Police Commissioner Edward Caban, according to the Associated Press.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, when reached for comment, stated that Trump is “touched by the invitation to join” Diller’s family and colleagues “as they cope with his senseless and tragic death.”
Trump’s potential presence at Diller’s wake coincides with his ongoing propagation of unfounded assertions regarding crime rates in New York. The former president has frequently made such claims while targeting state prosecutors who have leveled charges against him, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. James brought forth a civil fraud case against him, while Bragg brought charges related to falsifying business records in his hush money case.
“You know, in New York, what’s happening with crime is it’s through the roof, and it’s called ‘migrant,’” the former president said at a rally in Michigan last month. “They beat up police officers. You’ve seen that they go in, they stab people, hurt people, shoot people. It’s a whole new form, and they have gangs now that are making our gangs look like small potatoes.”
Moreover, the former president has consistently made unverified claims about undocumented migrants assaulting police officers and inflating the crime rate in New York City to unprecedented levels.
At a rally in Michigan last month, the former president asserted, “You know, in New York, what’s happening with crime is it’s through the roof, and it’s called ‘migrant.’ They beat up police officers. You’ve seen that they go in, they stab people, hurt people, shoot people. It’s a whole new form, and they have gangs now that are making our gangs look like small potatoes.”
