Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to plead guilty to charges stemming from hush money payments in 2016. Protesters began gathering in a park outside the courtroom where the former president is set to be arraigned on Tuesday morning for a “Rally for Trump.”
The protest with Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was set to begin about midday, many hours before Donald Trump’s court appearance. Trump supporters are also expected to congregate at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday night when he returns.
The prosecutor has arrived
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg came in court Tuesday morning in New York ahead of the arraignment of former President Donald Trump. After his victory the previous November, Bragg became Manhattan’s first Black district attorney in 2022. He took over a grand jury inquiry into hush money paid on Trump’s behalf during his presidential campaign in 2016.
After assuming office, Bragg halted his office’s progress toward an indictment of Trump, citing worries about the case’s strength. This prompted two prosecutors who were leading the probe to resign and stage a public protest. But, after convicting Trump’s family company for tax evasion, Bragg assembled a fresh grand jury this year. He described the outcome as a “solid demarcation line” for moving forward with other elements of the investigation.
‘No guilty plea from Trump’s Attorney
Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said the former president’s presence in court for the arraignment on Tuesday will be brief since the process “doesn’t take long.”
“It won’t be a long day in court,” he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“We know the basis of the indictment and the factual allegations in the indictment,” Tacopina said, adding Trump would maintain his innocence.
“One thing I can assure you as I sit here today, there’ll be no guilty plea in this case. That’s one thing I can guarantee you,” he said.
Tacopina appeared to foresee that the lawsuit will be dropped in the end.
“I don’t think this case will go to a jury,” he remarked. “I believe a legal challenge will be filed and should be successful.”
Spectators form a line
Spectators, many of whom were members of the news media, waited all night for a seat inside the courthouse or even a glimpse of Trump, who wasn’t slated to appear until Tuesday afternoon.
The structure was ringed by barricades, and people were subjected to multiple layers of security checks. The reporters in line were camped out under tents, complete with lawn chairs, blankets, and pizza boxes.
The Secret Service was expected to accompany the nation’s 45th commander-in-chief from New York City‘s Trump Tower, which was likewise encircled by barriers, to a lower Manhattan courthouse.
Authorities were bracing for protests from Trump supporters, a Republican who is running for President again in 2024. He referred to the grand jury’s decision to indict him as “political persecution and election interference at the highest level.”
Authorities looked into payments made to porn performer Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal in order to dissuade the women from going public with claims that they had sex with him.