Trump to fly to New York amid tight security ahead of arraignment today
Former US President Donald Trump was set to fly from Florida to New York City yesterday, ahead of his scheduled arraignment related to hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election, as security tightens in Manhattan.
Trump, the first former US president to face criminal charges, is due to be arraigned, fingerprinted and photographed at the downtown Manhattan courthouse today.
His lawyers have said he will enter a plea of not guilty.
The specific charges included in the grand jury indictment have not been disclosed.
The Republican businessman-turned-politician planned to travel from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach at midday yesterday, arriving later in the day in New York and spending the night at Trump Tower before arriving at the courthouse this morning, an adviser said.
A court official said the arraignment was planned for 2.15pm today (8.15pm SA time). Trump’s office said he would then return to Florida and deliver remarks at Mar-aLago.
New York police during the weekend began erecting barricades along the edge of the pavements around Trump Tower and the Manhattan Criminal Court building.
Demonstrations are expected at those sites and police vowed to be prepared.
“Officers have been placed on alert and the department remains ready to respond as needed and will ensure everyone is able to peacefully exercise their rights,” the New York police department said.
Other courtrooms on the courth’s higher floors would be shut ahead of the arraignment as part of security precautions, a court official said.
US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted an invitation on Sunday to join her at a protest near the courthouse today, saying: “They’re not coming after President Trump, they’re coming after us, he’s just in their way.”
Before the indictment, the grand jury heard evidence about a $130,000 (R2.3m) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump. Trump denies it.
Trump, 76, served as president from 2017 to 2021 and in November launched a bid to regain the presidency in 2024, aiming to deny President Joe Biden a second term in office.
Word of the indictment, arising from an investigation led by Manhattan’s Democratic district attorney, Alvin Bragg, surfaced on Thursday.
Trump and his allies have portrayed the charges as politically motivated.
Joe Tacopina, a Trump lawyer, said on Sunday he expected more details surrounding the arraignment to be resolved yesterday and noted that the Secret Service, which protects former presidents, also had a role to play today.
Tacopina said it was unlikely there would be a “perp walk ”— in which an individual who has been charged is paraded in front of the media.
Tacopina saidTrump’s lawyers would “dissect” the indictment once it was made public and look at “every potential issue” to challenge, adding that he anticipated at some point making a motion to dismiss the charges.
“I honestly don’t know how this is going to go — hopefully as smoothly as possible — and then we begin the battle to right this wrong,” he told CNN.
Trump is expected to appear before justice Juan Merchan, who also presided over a trial last year in which Trump’s real estate company was convicted of tax fraud.