Trump flies to New York for arraignment, Manhattan tightens security

Former US President Donald Trump will fly from Florida to New York on Monday, where he will be arraigned on Tuesday. The New York judiciary is prosecuting Trump for allegedly buying off an ex-mistress, with money from his campaign coffers in the run-up to the 2016 election. Never before has a (former) president been charged in the US. His fingerprints will be taken in New York on Tuesday and a mugshot made of him in the courthouse in midtown Manhattan. Trump will plead not guilty, according to his lawyers. In the run-up to his arrival, Manhattan has now taken extra security measures.

What are the specific details of the indictment of the grand jury is not known. Tuesday’s arraignment will be Trump’s first court appearance on the case. On Monday afternoon, Trump, who announced his run for the 2024 presidential election last November, will fly to New York from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. According to an advisor, he will fly back on Tuesday.

New York City police began cordoning off the area around Trump Tower and the Manhattan Criminal Court building in the city center last weekend. Several other courtrooms will also be evacuated. Demonstrations by supporters of the former president are expected at those locations. US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted on Sunday a call to join her in a protest near the courthouse on Tuesday. “They’re not coming after President Trump, they’re coming after us, he’s just getting in their way.”

Trump allegedly had sex with Stephanie Clifford, better known as porn actress Stormy Daniels, in 2006. His attorney Michael Cohen allegedly paid her $130,000 hush money in 2016 during the Trump campaign. Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen was previously convicted of the issue. He now serves as the key witness against Trump.

Read also: Trump’s indictment: a historic unique and an opportunity for the former president

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