Former US President Donald Trump will make his first court appearance today where he’s expected to plead not guilty to more than two dozen charges related to hush money payments during his successful run for the White House in 2016.
Trump arrived in New York on Monday afternoon after traveling from his home in Florida.
A grand jury weighing the evidence presented by prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office voted to charge him last week, making the native New Yorker the first former President in US history to face a criminal indictment.
Trump spent the night at his New York residence known as Trump Tower and will later make his way downtown to the Manhattan courthouse where he will be arraigned, fingerprinted and likely photographed.
He maintains the criminal indictment is part of a broader political persecution and witch hunt to hurt his chances of seeking re-election in 2024.
The judge is likely to release him on his own recognizance when he’s expected to immediately travel back to Florida ahead of a primetime address later tonight.
The indictment, detailing the charges he’ll face in relation to an alleged payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in return for her silence during the 2016 presidential election, will only be opened once he appears in court.
VIDEO | Former US President Trump heads to New York ahead of arraignment: Sherwin Bryce-Pease:
