MIAMI — Former President Donald Trump is set to make his first appearance Tuesday afternoon in federal court in downtown Miami.
UPDATES
1:50 p.m.: Motorcade arrives at Wilkie D. Fergusson Jr. federal courthouse. Each vehicle is checked at the entrance check point before it is allowed to proceed to the sally port, or entrance, for the United States Marshal Service. Supporters lined the streets outside the courthouse as a show of support for the former president.
1:25 p.m.: Doral police motorcade seen leaving Trump resort. It’s a 12 mile journey from the Trump National Doral resort to the Wilkie D. Fergusson Jr. federal courthouse in downtown Miami where he will be arraigned.
1:23 p.m.: The former president is set to depart his Doral resort in order to head to downtown Miami to face a federal judge.
What you need to know.
Trump is facing 37 charges related to what prosecutors said was his mishandling of classified documents. He’s expected to plead not guilty to the charges.
In the pre-dawn hours, a small group of Trump supporters and those critical of the former president began arriving outside the courthouse.
Gregg Donovan, who came from California to support Trump, said that this is a “very sad day in America” while protesting outside the courthouse. Donovan says this is “surreal” and is “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. I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see. I mean, if he’s found guilty, I mean I just, I have another dream ticket. It could be, uh, Trump DeSantis and then DeSantis could pardon him, so,” 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.” 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.
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said safety is paramount and all officers will be on high alert.
“Make no mistake. We are taking this event extremely seriously. We know the potential for things to take a turn for the worse. That’s not the Miami way,” he said.
Morales said any protests should be peaceful and civil.
“We’re ready. Ready for it to be over and done,” he said.
Security for Trump’s court appearance includes U.S. Marshals, responsible for securing the courthouse and federal grounds; U.S. Secret Service, responsible for providing security for Trump as a former president; Miami police, responsible for securing the streets around the courthouse; and Miami-Dade police, who will provide added security around the courthouse, Trump National Doral, and the movement of Trump around the county.
The Florida Highway Patrol will help with road closures and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will also offer assistance.
CNN
Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan said Trump’s court appearance will be different than his very public one in New York City.
“In the federal court system, which is policed by the United States Marshal Service, there are no electronic devices, no cellphones, no cameras, allowed into or onto the premises inside. So basically, you’re going to see his motorcade gain access through a sally port, through the United States Marshal Service entrance, where they would typically bring in people in custody, and that’s basically all you are going to see of him until such time as his team exits the building and whether or not he wants to make himself public,” said Kaplan.
Kaplan said here’s what we can expect for Trump’s arraignment.
“The normal procedure will be, and I do this all the time, is that if I am self-surrendering a defendant, he will first go up to the United States Marshal Service office, he will be fingerprinted and photographed. Those fingerprints will be run through NCIC (National Crime Information Center), his photograph will be attached to his jacket, and then he will proceed up to the courtroom and the proceedings will start. These proceedings will be very quick.”
Former US prosecutor David Weinstein said these initial appearances normally last about 15 minutes. He thinks this one could be a bit longer. He said Trump is not expected to speak much during the hearing except to answer questions from the judge. In the hearing, they will also discuss pre-trial release plans. Weinstein said because we’re dealing with a former president we are in uncharted territory.
“We’re dealing with a unique individual here. He is escorted around and supervised by Secret Service,” Weinstein said. “He’s the former President of the United States. He’s on television, social media, virtually almost every hour of every day. So everybody knows where he’s going to be but I do think we’re going see the government ask to have him surrender his passport. And he not be allowed to travel outside the United States,” he said.
Following his arraignment, Trump will head to New Jersey for a fundraising event Tuesday night.