Trump arraignment live updates: Trump motorcade arrives at courthouse for federal indictment hearing

Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom for Trump's arraignment, which is standard for federal court proceedings. CBS News will provide in-depth coverage and analysis from correspondents and expert guests in Miami and Washington, D.C.

• What: Former President Donald Trump appears in court for his arraignment on federal charges
• Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2023
• Time: CBS News Special Report coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET; Court appearance scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, Florida
• On TV: CBS television stations (find your local station here)
• Online stream: Live on CBS News in the video player above and on your mobile or streaming device 

Trump's motorcade arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami at 1:50 p.m., greeted by supporters and opponents alike. 

The public won't see much of Trump as he heads into the building. 

A small group of pro-Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters gathered Tuesday in front of Miami's Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. courthouse, where The Associated Press reported they were squabbling.

Demonstrators began gathering in the pre-dawn hours, according to CBS News Miami.

Gregg Donovan, who came from California to support Trump, told CBS Miami that this is a "very sad day in America." He called it "surreal" and "the worst day since President Kennedy and President Lincoln were shot."

"I thought America was supposed to be the leader of, you know, the example, and now what's happening," he said.  

Domenic Santana of Miami spoke out against Trump, saying, "America fell for the biggest con in history." Santana called Trump "a graduate from the school of rats" and said he "should have gone to jail a long time ago."

Around 10:30 a.m., the crowd was pushed back from an area by the courthouse where the media was stationed due to a "security threat." CBS Miami reporter Joe Gorchow said someone had attached what appeared to be a television to a light pole. It had a message on its front that used an expletive to describe the "communist media." The TV was taken down. A police K9 alerted to the area and members of the bomb squad were brought in to check it out. 

Just before noon, the all clear was given and people were allowed to return to the area. 

Trump goes into his arraignment Tuesday with an understanding of the serious nature of the federal criminal charges filed against him, says a spokesperson for Trump, but he and his legal team are taking issue with an indictment that they say is politically motivated, lacks context and tells only one side of the story.

Trump attorney Alina Habba, now the spokesperson for the former president, told CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge in an interview before Trump's arraignment that "of course" he's aware of the seriousness of the charges, but argued the special counsel's team of prosecutors is applying the "antiquated" Espionage Act "to political opponents in a way that has never been seen before."

Read more here.

The former president's entourage has left his Doral resort, and is en route to the courthouse in Miami for the roughly 25-minute drive. 

Multiple federal sources have told CBS News that they are concerned about the security outside the courthouse, which Miami police are both providing and supervising. Miami police are using plastic yellow tape to cordon off the area, not metal bike rack fences or even the heavy garbage trucks that are used in New York and elsewhere to prevent access for high-profile events. 

Federal sources are concerned if large crowds develop and got out of hand, the security would not hold. 

The U.S. Marshals, U.S. Secret Service, federal court officers and the US. Department of Homeland Security only have jurisdictional protection inside the courthouse and of the former president himself, not outside the courthouse. 

First lady Jill Biden said it's "a little shocking" that many Republicans still plan to vote for former President Donald Trump after he was indicted for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, according to the Associated Press. 

"They don't care about the indictment. So that's a little shocking, I think," she said during a campaign fundraiser in New York City on Monday. 

President Biden has so far declined to comment on the federal indictment. 

A recent CBS News poll found that Trump is Republicans' top choice to take on Mr. Biden in the 2024 election. 

Trump will be booked either just before or just after the arraignment, depending on when he arrives, officials told reporters. An official familiar with the planning told CBS News that Trump will not be "arrested," but instead "processed" and in the loose custody of the U.S. Marshals.  

There will not be a mugshot taken, officials said. The U.S. Marshals Service has determined it will use a previously taken photo. They will administer a digital fingerprint scan and collect typical information: date of birth, Social Security and recent address history. A decision about his passport will be made by pretrial services.

— Graham Kates, Andres Triay, Pat Milton

Trump's arraignment and trial will take place in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, where the indictment against the former president was filed last week. Most of the alleged crimes described in the indictment occurred in or around Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. 

The former president is expected to surrender to U.S. marshals at the federal courthouse in downtown Miami, where he'll be booked and processed.

Cameras have been prohibited in the courthouse, and there's little chance that the public will catch a glimpse of him during his arraignment. A group of media organizations sought to allow some photos to be taken, but the judge rejected the request. The courthouse complex is connected by underground tunnels, making it easier for Trump to evade the public. 

At Trump's arraignment, which isn't expected to take long, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman will set deadlines for federal prosecutors to turn over the evidence they've gathered to the defense. The court will then adjourn until a later date. 

Read more here. 

Trump is scheduled to be arraigned in a Miami federal courtroom at 3 p.m. Tuesday. In the video above, CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa and CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman have more on how the day is expected to go for the former president.

Chris Christie, who is battling Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination, said at a CNN Town Hall on Monday night that the former president "doesn't give a damn about the American people." 

A former federal prosecutor, Christie called Trump a "child" for not accepting the 2020 election results. He also called Trump a "three-time loser," adding "he hasn't won a damn thing since 2016."

Christie said he agreed with former Attorney General Bill Barr, who said on Fox News Sunday that Trump was "totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents."

When asked if President Biden "weaponized" the Justice Department against Trump, Christie said, "I don't think so ... The evidence looks pretty damning." 

"We're in a situation where there are people in my own party who are blaming DOJ. How about blame him? He did it," Christie said. 

Christie called Trump's conduct alleged in the indictment "vanity run amok, ego run amok." 

— Grace Kazarian

Miami police said they were prepared for the possibility of thousands of protesters outside the federal courthouse. 

The security preparations come as Trump is expected to be booked and processed after surrendering to U.S. Marshals — and after Trump urged his supporters to converge on Miami, through a social media post on his Truth Social platform. 

The former president, however, is not expected to walk through the front door or any crowd, but through a private entrance with the Secret Service at his side.

Miami defense attorney Michelle Suskauer, a veteran in the field, believes the crowd is unlikely to catch even a glimpse of Trump when he arrives.

Read more here. 

— Scott MacFarlane and Analisa Novak

According to sources familiar with the planning, Trump is expected to be joined by lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise. Meetings with local attorneys are continuing. One member of Trump's legal team downplayed Tuesday's arraignment as simply "procedural" when speaking about the upcoming court appearance. 

After meetings last night with Walt Nauta's legal team and his own lawyers, Trump will keep meeting with Florida lawyers this week as he seeks to add more seasoned criminal defense lawyers to his legal team, they added. But for now, he's leaning on Blanche, who he sees as a "killer," and Kise, who knows Florida, to help him navigate this terrain. 

Other Trump lawyers such as Lindsey Halligan and Boris Boris Epshteyn remain involved and often central in the "fight this in the court of public opinion" area, but as this enters a new, more serious phase in federal court, sources tell me an expanding team is necessary for Trump to be on strong footing ahead of a protracted legal battle with the special counsel. 

— Robert Costa and Fin Gomez

Trump huddled with top campaign and legal advisers on Monday night at his Trump Doral hotel ahead of his court scheduled court appearance on Tuesday. Trump and his team had dinner in a private room at the hotel's BLT Prime restaurant and next to the restaurant's circular bar that had the Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets NBA Finals game playing on the TV.

Trump's advisers said his mood ahead of the court appearance can be described as "defiant and confident" over the charges he faces, and that he plans to "fight" the federal charges.

His advisers said that Trump and his team have been buoyed by recent polls, including the new CBS poll, that showed in the aftermath of Thursday's indictment news, Trump had a formidable double-digit lead over the rest of the GOP field, including Ron DeSantis.

Earlier in the day, Trump was greeted with cheers and applause by hotel patrons and supporters when he first arrived into the lobby. A larger group of Trump supporters had congregated in a parking lot across the street from the opulent Doral property. 

Pro-Trump supporters, some wearing Trump t-shirts and hats, sat at the bar and some said they were also planning on attending the courthouse protests on Tuesday. One Florida Trump supporter at the Trump Doral bar, a New York transplant who was staying at the hotel in hopes of running into the former president, said she hoped that Trump would not be convicted and imprisoned because she thought there could be a "civil war" if it were to happen.

Special counsel Jack Smith, whose office oversaw the investigation that led to the Justice Department to charge Trump, arrived in Miami on Monday night. 

Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said Monday that the city is ready for protests ranging anywhere between 5,000 to 50,000 people, and he encouraged any demonstrations to be peaceful. 

"I just want to assure the city we are ready, and we're ready for it to be over and done," Morales said.

Security for Trump's court appearance will involve multiple law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Marshals, who are responsible for securing the courthouse and federal grounds; the U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for providing security for Trump as a former president; Miami police, who will be responsible for the streets around the federal courthouse and dealing with protesters; as well as Miami-Dade County police, who will provide added security around the courthouse, Trump National Doral, and the movement of Trump around the county; Florida Highway Patrol, to help with road closures; and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The federal charges come just a couple of months after Trump was charged by a New York grand jury in a separate case.

The Manhattan grand jury found Trump should be charged for allegedly illegally disguising payments to his "fixer" Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

On April 4, he spent about an hour inside a Manhattan courtroom with his legal team and became the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. He pleaded not guilty.

While both cases could involve prison time if Trump is convicted, legal analysts say the federal charges, involving sensitive government documents, appear to raise greater concerns.

"For me the difference between the two cases is huge. It's not just state versus federal, it's also the severity of the crimes, it's the amount of evidence that's been amassed," Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor and CBS News legal contributor, said.

Read more here. 

The indictment, filed by special counsel Jack Smith, lists 37 felony counts against Trump related to his handling of sensitive government documents, including some that allegedly involve "defense and weapons capabilities" and U.S. nuclear programs. A Trump aide, Walt Nauta, is also charged in the case.

The 37 counts against Trump are: 

• 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents
• 1 count of conspiracy to obstruct justice
• 1 count of withholding a document or record
• 1 count of corruptly concealing a document or record
• 1 count of concealing a document in a federal investigation
• 1 count of scheme to conceal
• 1 count of making false statements and representations.

Nauta, Trump's 40-year-old former valet,  was charged with six counts:

• 1 count of conspiracy to obstruction justice
• 1 count of withholding a document or record
• 1 count of corruptly concealing a document or record
• 1 count of concealing a document in a federal investigation
• 1 count of scheme to conceal
• 1 count of making false statements or representations.

The charges against Trump involve 31 records "relating to the national defense" discovered at Mar-a-Lago, according to the indictment, including White House intelligence briefings from 2018 through 2020 related to foreign countries, documents concerning military capabilities of foreign countries and the U.S., a June 2020 document involving a foreign country's nuclear capabilities, an undated record about U.S. nuclear weaponry and a document from October 2018 concerning the communications with another country's leader.

Twenty-one of these documents had a "TOP SECRET" classification marking, while nine were marked "SECRET." The final document bore no marking, according to a chart included in the indictment.

After the arraignment, Trump will head back to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will give remarks and have a fundraiser. 

The Trump campaign has been churning out fundraising emails based off his indictment. At the Georgia GOP convention on Saturday, Trump said the indictment had driven his poll numbers up and had "driven us right through the sky" on fundraising.