Former President Donald Trump is set to arrive in New York today, where he will become the first current or former US president to ever be arrested and charged with a crime.
The former president announced on Truth Social on Sunday that he will leave his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at noon ET on Monday to head to Manhattan.
“I will be leaving Mar-a-Lago on Monday at 12 noon, heading to Trump Tower in New York. On Tuesday morning I will be going to, believe it or not, the Courthouse. America was not supposed to be this way!” he wrote.
Trump was indicted by a grand jury in New York last week, making him the first former president to face criminal charges. The precise charges are not yet known, but the case is said to center on a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
New York is bracing for Trump’s arrival, with security ramped up and barricades erected around Manhattan Criminal Court where he will appear before Judge Juan Merchan at 2.15pm on Tuesday.
Trump is expected to deliver remarks from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida during prime time on Tuesday night, just hours after his arraignment in Manhattan.
On Sunday, Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina gave some fighting talk telling ABC that his client is “gearing up for battle” in the case.
Trump’s indictment will likely interfere with his third bid for president in the upcoming 2024 election. The indictment comes after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office into Trump’s business dealings and whether he violated New York state laws when his lawyer paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the probe politically motivated.
Trump’s call for protests on social media has raised concerns for law enforcement that supporters might engage in violence similar to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington. However, New York Mayor Eric Adams has stated that police are monitoring social media and keeping an eye out for “inappropriate actions” in the city, and the New York Police Department has said there are no known credible threats.
Source – Tru News Report
