Video Shows Republicans Argue Over DeSantis Outside Trump Court Appearance

Tensions flared outside a Miami-area courtroom Tuesday as former President Donald Trump prepared to be arraigned on 37 felony charges related to allegations that he illegally removed classified information from the White House and then obstructed efforts to retrieve it.

Police officers in riot gear were seen outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. federal courthouse in Miami as helicopters circled overhead, with a crowd of journalists and Trump supporters clamoring for space on the sidewalk.

Some could be seen holding signs calling for the court to "lock him up"—a reference to Trump's calls to imprison Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on the 2016 campaign trail for keeping classified information on a private email server during her time as secretary of state—while others sought to express solidarity with a presidential candidate they felt was being unjustly prosecuted by a Justice Department run amok.

But the South Florida crowd also featured supporters of Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who needled Trump supporters. Right-wing provocateur and DeSantis supporter Chris Nelson told reporters that Trump "brought this on himself."

That proved enough to anger some in the crowd, with some in videos from the scene heard yelling profanity about DeSantis.

DeSantis has tread carefully around the indictment—even as many former members of Trump's inner circle have cast a pessimistic tone about its contents.

However, DeSantis has also sought to take advantage of Trump's compromised position as he continues to fight to gain traction in the polls, where the former president remains the heavy favorite of the Republican base in spite of his crimes.

While figures in the House like Republicans Byron Donalds and Speaker Kevin McCarthy have defended recently released images of classified documents in places like the Mar-A-Lago bathroom because those bathrooms "have locks," others have pointed out that the documents were easily accessible in other areas of Trump's South Florida mansion, and have cited audio evidence appearing to show Trump discussing the contents of classified information with a writer who was working on a book about him.

Trump had also reportedly traveled with some of the documents, taking them to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. And while he has maintained that he had a standing order to declassify any documents he saw fit, he can also be heard on the audio tape suggesting he did not—contradicting numerous claims he'd already made publicly.

"I think the chances of a guilty verdict are fairly high, and the chances of real jail time are pretty high," Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former chief of staff, said on Monday.

Speaking at the North Carolina Republican Convention over the weekend, DeSantis bashed the Department of Justice for what he said he believed was a politically motivated indictment against a top rival of President Joe Biden, arguing that it illustrated a two-tiered system of justice in the wake of then-FBI Director James Comey's decision not to recommend charges against Clinton.

At no point, however, did he suggest that removing classified documents from the White House should not be a crime, setting the stage for an apparent jab at Trump as he faces 37 charges related to his alleged refusal to turn over the documents.

"As a naval officer, if I would have taken classified [documents] to my apartment, I would have been court-martialed in a New York minute," DeSantis told the crowd.