Donald Trump, who has been charged with withholding confidential documents following his departure from the White House, will appear in court in Miami on Tuesday, local time. The Republican has called for protests and his supporters have already uttered war language, US media reports.
Trump himself describes his prosecution as a politically motivated witch hunt by his political opponents to prevent him from becoming president again. “They have launched one witch hunt after another to stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump said after the indictment was announced.
The former president, who has entered the race again for the White House, is expected in court on Tuesday at 3 p.m. local time (9 p.m. in Belgium). The authorities keep a close eye on what kind of protests are planned, writes ‘The Washington Post’. For example, a local branch of the far-right Proud Boys would like to demonstrate at the court on Tuesday. Leaders of that group have previously been convicted of their involvement in the storming of the Capitol after the presidential election lost by Trump.
Miami has already banned police officers from taking Tuesday off. Officers who normally work in civilian clothes must wear a uniform this time, according to the newspaper. Then they can turn out faster in emergency situations. Social media is also monitored to see what supporters of the former president are planning. Trump himself wants to give a speech at his golf club in New Jersey a few hours after his arraignment.
Trump took dozens of boxes of files, including classified files containing sensitive information, to Florida when he left Washington. The indictment that was made public on Friday shows that he is charged with, among other things, “withholding information about national security” and “obstruction of justice”. According to the document, he endangered US national security by carrying nuclear secrets. In all, he is indicted on 37 counts.
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