Barriers were going up Monday outside of the New York City courthouse where the “hush money” case involving porn star Stormy Daniels is being heard.  The move comes after former President Donald Trump announced over the weekend he expects to be arrested this week at the instruction of leftist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Video shows men unloading stacks of metal barriers outside of the courthouse as the jury continues to hear testimony on the case:

Over the weekend, Trump announced on Truth Social he expects to be arrested this week, citing “illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan District Attorney’s office.”

He continued:

…WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!

The announcement sent a shockwave throughout the political world, and several high-profile Republicans are now publicly defending Trump and demanding equal justice under the law.

“It reeks of the kind of political prosecution that that we endured back in the days of the Russia hoax and the whole impeachment over a phone call. And one thing I know is — I know that former President Trump can take care of himself,” former Vice President Mike Pence told Breitbart News Saturday following the news.

Others have since weighed in:

Meanwhile, Republicans on top House investigative committees, including Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), are requesting testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, warning him that these reports of a looming indictment, if true, “erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the course of the 2024 presidential election.”

“In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,” they added:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) finally weighed in on the matter on Monday as well but said his office is “not going to be involved” with a “manufactured circus by some Soros [backed] DA.”