Donald Trump would like to appear in court in handcuffs if he is arrested on charges related to the "Stormy Daniels" case, the former US president told his advisers.

Trump expects the allegation that he tried to cover up during the 2016 election campaign that he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130.000 through lawyer Michael Cohen to keep quiet about an affair she had with him. The money was given by the lawyer, and Trump then paid him with checks of $35.000 each.

The former president on Friday called on his supporters to demonstrate en masse against "political persecution". After most supporters did not respond to the call, fearing that they might be arrested, Trump decided to turn the arrest into a spectacle that he could use in the campaign for the presidential elections next year to determine his rating among conservatives.

If an indictment is announced, Trump will be required to report to the New York District Attorney's Office, where he will be photographed, fingerprinted and released to await trial. If he does not turn himself in, prosecutors will ask the state of Florida, where Trump lives, to extradite him to New York. In such a scenario, the extradition order would have to be signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, who is Trump's most serious opponent for the Republican presidential nomination.

- He calculated that if he already has to go to court, surrender and be photographed with a plate in front of a height tape, let it be spectacular - told the anonymous sources quoted by the newspaper "Guardian".

They claim that Trump insisted that his hands be tied behind his back, so that he could more illustratively present himself to voters as a victim of political persecution. He also calculated that it would be contrary to his ambitions to be interviewed via video link or to slip into the prosecutor's office through the back entrance, away from the journalists' lenses. Such a "show" is expected no later than next Wednesday, when the deadline passes for the jury to announce its conclusion on whether charges should be brought.

Although the counselors and bodyguards warned him that his safety would be at risk during the spectacular arrest, he replied that "he doesn't care if someone shoots him, because that way he could become a martyr", and then added that "if they shoot him, he will surely win the presidential elections in 2024."

District Attorney Alvin Bragg will decide whether the former president will be handcuffed and appear before the crowd and cameras at all. It is not known what, if any, will be covered by the indictment. Trump's legal team expects to be charged with falsifying business documents and tax fraud, because no taxes were paid on the money paid to the starlet.