Donald Trump to fly to New York for court surrender amid tight security. Top updates
4 min read . Updated: 03 Apr 2023, 01:36 PM IST
Premium- The unprecedented indictment comes as the Republican faces other legal investigations and launches a bid to return to the White House in 2024.
Security in Manhattan tightened as Former US President Donald Trump is set to fly from Florida to New York City today, ahead of his scheduled indictment related to hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election. The former president is facing criminal charges and is scheduled to appear at the courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. He has been indicted as part of a grand jury investigation into hush money paid to a porn star Stormy Daniels. He is the first former US president to face criminal charges.
The unprecedented indictment comes as the Republican faces other legal investigations and launches a bid to return to the White House in 2024. The specific charges included in the grand jury indictment have not been disclosed; Tuesday's arraignment marks Trump's first appearance in court and in front of a judge in the case.
Here are top updates you need to know:
- The Republican businessman-turned-politician to travel from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach midday on Monday, arriving later in the day in New York and spending the night at Trump Tower in Manhattan before arriving at the courthouse on Tuesday morning, an adviser told Reuters.
-A court official said the arraignment is planned for 2.15 p.m. (1815 GMT) on Tuesday. Trump then will return to Florida and deliver remarks at Mar-a-Lago at 8.15 pm on Tuesday (0015 GMT on Wednesday), his office said.
-New York police during the weekend began erecting barricades along the edge of the sidewalks around Trump Tower and the Manhattan Criminal Court building downtown, and some other courtrooms will be cleared.
-The New York Police Department in a statement said that 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," as per the statement.
-Other courtrooms on the courthouse's higher floors will be shut down ahead of the arraignment as part of the security precautions, a court official said.
-The New York Young Republican Club has announced that it plans to hold a protest at a park located across the street from the courthouse where former President Trump will be arraigned. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is one of Trump's most ardent supporters in Congress, has also stated that she will attend the demonstration.
-There have been some concerning reports from the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism. It has been reported that some social media users have called for the execution of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the jury that indicted Trump.
-Writing on his Truth Social platform Saturday, Trump called for protests against what he said was his expected arrest Tuesday, reported ABC News. Online posts indicate there appear to be a handful of small protests being organized by different grassroots groups. On Sunday a small group of pro-Trump demonstrators gathered on the bridge connecting Palm Beach to the mainland. They said they would return with more people on Tuesday or sooner if Trump were to be indicted, according to reports
-Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina on an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union said that the former President will plead 'not guilty'. ““We will very loudly and proudly say ‘not guilty,’"he said. Tacopina said he believes Trump faces several misdemeanor charges and signaled a defense the former president is likely to launch, including assailing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s authority to bring state charges tied to a federal election. He said the payments were previously investigated by the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department which he said concluded there were “no violations."
-Meanwhile, the New York case is just one of many legal woes Trump is facing. The Justice Department is also investigating his retention of top secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House. Federal investigators are also still probing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election that Trump falsely claimed was stolen.
-In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election. The foreperson of a special grand jury, which heard from dozens of witnesses, said last month that the panel had recommended that numerous people be indicted, and hinted Trump could be among them. It is ultimately up to Willis to decide whether to move forward.
(With inputs from agencies)