Trump Indictment: Former President Arrives For Arrest And Arraignment
Donald Trump arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court for his arrest and arraignment, as he tried to project an image of defiance in the first-ever spectacle of a former president facing an indictment.
Trump waved before he walked into the building, surrounded by his security detail. Just before that, he wrote on Truth Social, “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
The exact nature of the charges — believed to be related to so-called hush money payments paid to porn star Stormy Daniels — are expected to be publicly disclosed soon before or at the time his hearing starts, scheduled for 2:15 PM ET.
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Broadcast networks broke into regular programming to cover the scene, while cable networks tracked his motorcade and its four-mile trip from Trump Tower to lower Manhattan.
“This moment at 1:24 Eastern time, Donald Trump is under arrest,” CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said, as the chyron switched to “Donald Trump under arrest and awaiting arraignment.”
On MSNBC, Chris Jansing said that it was worth pausing to consider “the moment that we’ve never been in before, and that is that when he walked into that courthouse, and he was escorted, officially, Donald Trump, former president of the United States, front runner for the Republican nomination for president of the United States, is now under arrest. We have never seen this before. It is a sobering moment.”
On Fox News, John Roberts said, “What we are witnessing is something happening for the first time.”
The scene outside turned into a bit of a circus earlier in the morning, as Rep. George Santos (R-NY) arrived at the scene. Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show peppered him with questions, “Can you tell us about your volleyball career? Are you brining legitimacy to this process, finally?”
The number of members of the media far outnumbered demonstrators, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who spoke at a nearby park. One man blew a whistle as she delivered brief remarks, making it difficult for bystanders to hear, but she spent much of her time slamming Democrats. Counter-protesters also heckled her, and she stayed for just a few minutes.
Fox News, CNN and other networks had their cameras trained on Trump Tower, hoping to capture the moment when he left for lower Manhattan, where there is heavy security. But up until then, there was little news to actually report, as the indictment has yet to be made public. Fox News focused in part on District Attorney Alvin Bragg, amplifying criticism that he was soft on crime.
Reporters, some who have been assigned for weeks to monitor the courthouse, reported an uptick in security in advance of Trump’s arrival. In the hours before, Trump posted a series of all caps rants on Truth Social, including one in which he railed against the “highly partisan judge” in the case, as well as his family. He also chided Fox News for featuring his former attorney general, William Barr, whom he called a “complete coward.” Just before he left, Trump’s campaign sent out a fundraising email, calling the indictment a “witch hunt.”
Outside the courthouse, sunny skies and temperatures near 70s may have had a calming effect on the few dozen protesters. A cluster of Trump supporters, many in red hats and other signature attire and flags (all rare sights in deep-blue Manhattan) took up a position in Collect Pond Park. Opposite them stood a collection of anti-Trump activists, some of whom brought a large, black-and-white banner with the message, “Trump Lies All The Time.”
When the banner was unfurled, a small skirmish broke out, and there was other minor pushing and shoving during the course of the morning, but a heavy police presence prevented any serious clashes. Adding another odd overlay, the goings-on inside the small, square park were closely monitored by hundreds of media members from a globe-spanning collection of outlets.
Dade Hayes contributed to this report.
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