Former President Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan court just before 1:30 p.m. to be charged in the Stormy Daniels case.
He arrived by motorcade after spending the night in Trump Tower – and raised his fist for the cameras as he left the luxurious office and apartment building.
As soon as he entered the building he was officially arrested.
Heading to Lower Manhattan, Courthouse. It seems so surprising – great, they’ll arrest me. I can’t believe this is happening in America. Maga! Trump posted on his Truth Social network while driving.
Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday, but the charges were kept under wraps.
CNN said the former president spent the day in his office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower with aides.
His attorney, Joe Tacopina, told the local New York Fox affiliate Tuesday morning that he spent “all night” with Trump in the run-up to Tuesday’s unprecedented legal action.
The former president arrived in New York on Monday and will return to Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening to deliver a statement to the press. He is also expected to speak to reporters coming in and out of the courtroom.
Former President Donald Trump raises his fist as he leaves Trump Tower to appear in court after being indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan
Trump was caught leaving Trump Tower to spend an afternoon in court Tuesday after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. The indictment will be revealed once Trump is in court
The former president’s motorcade drives through New York City as Trump heads to call him out on Tuesday
Trump waved as he entered New York Criminal Court at 100 Center Street in lower Manhattan for his trial on Tuesday
Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg arrived in court Tuesday morning before the former president.
Speaking with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos before Trump’s historic impeachment trial Tuesday, Tacopina said Trump would not plead guilty to a misdemeanor to conceal the Daniels hush money case, nor did he believe the Daniels money case brought by Bragg, would. See jury trial.
He also said he did not see how Trump could abide by the gag order.
“Here you have something uniquely different,” Tacopina told GMA. The defendant is the leading Republican candidate for President of the United States and will be campaigning. It’s hard to issue a gag order when he’ll be asking questions about his current legal status.
Trump was defiant before the trial, declaring himself the victim of an armed legal system and a political target by Democrats who did not want to see him win another term in the White House.
Trump raged on Truth Social Monday night after veteran journalist Michael Isikoff said, Writing for Yahoo Newsreported that the ex-president would be charged with 34 criminal counts — but he escaped handcuffs and a gunshot wound.
‘amazing! Attorney General, Bragg, “Unlawfully Leaked Various Points, Complete Information, Concerning the Pathetic Indictment Against Me,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
“I know the reporter, and unfortunately he is,” Trump added, referring to Isikoff.
Isikoff became a national figure during the 1990s as the first Washington reporter to learn of President Bill Clinton’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.
“That means it should be pointed out right away,” Trump said of Bragg, a Democrat. Now, if he really wanted to clean up his reputation, he’d do the honorable thing and, as a local prosecutor, INDICT HIMSELF. He will go down in judicial history, and his Trump-hating wife, I’m sure, will be very proud of him! “
The case involves $130,000 paid to Daniels by his then-attorney Michael Cohen in the final days of the 2016 campaign.
Cohen said he made the payment at Trump’s direction and was intended to ensure that Daniels did not publicly release her story of a sexual encounter with the married Trump.
The alleged relationship took place in 2006, long before Trump entered politics and when he was married to Melania. This was shortly after the birth of their son, Barron.
Trump denies the affair and any wrongdoing.
He also called Bragg a “racist in reverse”.
He also claims that Bragg obtained funding from Jewish billionaire George Soros, whose money many conspiracy theorists allege uses to control world events.
Bragg is a (Soros) racist in reverse, who takes his orders from DC, I beat them twice, do much better the second time around, and despite their smear campaign, they don’t want to do battle against Trump or my great country. register!’ Trump wrote on his platform TruthSocial last month.
Soros, who made his fortune in hedge funds, said he never contributed to Prague’s election campaign. Soros has become a hate figure for Trump and his allies.
The former president also pushed for the case to be moved from Manhattan to more Republican-friendly Staten Island just hours before the impeachment date.
Trump blasted the judge’s anti-Trump sentiments on Truth Social and said the new site would be “very fair and secure”.
He also noted that Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter, Lorraine Merchan, worked on Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, deepening the alleged bias against him.
Judge Merchan’s daughter Lauren served as the digital director for Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. She was with the campaign from February 2019 until December of the same year.
Lauren Merchant has finished campaigning to move into the same role at Authentic, a digital strategy firm for progressives.
A supporter of former US President Donald Trump argues with opponents outside the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City on April 4, 2023.
Protesters clash outside One Hogan Place, New York, N.Y., Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
Courtroom mayhem: Trump fan Juliet Germanotta, wearing a denim jacket and MAGA hat, throws herself on top of a Trump sign outside the courtroom
Germanotta got back to her feet and began arguing with one of his critics after he tried to tear down an anti-Trump sign outside the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Opinion polls show Trump’s strategy may be working because he is more popular than ever with Republican voters and garnering massive political support as he seeks a second term in the White House.
National polls, as well as state polls in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, show that voters still support his third bid for the presidency.
Trump leads his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by double digits.
DeSantis originally did some digging on Trump — saying he didn’t know what paid hush money to porn stars — but when polls showed Trump’s popularity, the Florida governor changed tactics, saying he’d block New York if it tried to extradite Trump.
The former president voluntarily went to Manhattan and appeared in court, which meant that no extradition attempt was required. Other Republicans have spoken out in Trump’s defense, saying the former president is a victim of politics.
Additionally, the Trump campaign said it has raised $8 million since the pending indictment was announced. And on Tuesday morning, I sent another appeal, titled “My Last Email Before Arrest.”
A conviction will not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Challenge attacks and defense are the cornerstones of any Trump strategy—tactics he’s used throughout his career, through both runs of his presidency, and throughout his time in the White House.
It helped when he was impeached twice by the US House of Representatives – but he was never convicted in the US Senate.
The former president faces other possible indictments: The Justice Department is investigating him in two separate cases: the discovery of classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The state of Georgia is also investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn election results there.
Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Trump called on his supporters to protest his impeachment.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (shown lower left wearing sunglasses) was swept up in fanfare from the media and protesters as she appeared at a rally outside the courthouse hosting the indictment of Donald Trump
An alarmed Trump ally was doused as she tried to speak in a park across from the courthouse by anti-Trump protesters shouting “Nazis” and “Go back to Georgia b****!”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and close Trump ally, held a rally in the park across from the courthouse.
President Trump joins some of the most amazing people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, and served time in prison. Issa! “Jesus was caught and killed by the Romanian government,” Green told the Right Side Broadcasting Network as she walked around New York with her boyfriend, RSBN reporter Brian Glenn.
Green was heckled by New Yorkers at the scene, who called her a slew of insults including “Nazi” and “Fucking b****!”
Disgraced MP Jorge Santos also made a surprise appearance.
Green said the case was a “travesty” and that it “should never have happened in America, ever.” But her words were barely audible as counter-protesters took to the streets, shouting at her.
The only other president ever charged with a crime was Ulysses S. Grant, who was arrested in 1872 for speeding in his horse and buggy near Logan Circle in Washington, DC.
He was taken to jail and fined $20.
