Former US President Donald Trump has been visiting attorneys at Trump Tower in New York City as he prepares to face criminal accusations that will go down in history.
He is being investigated for paying secret money to a porn actress who claims they had intercourse just before the 2016 election. He claims he has done nothing illegal.
Authorities have increased security in anticipation of demonstrations outside the Manhattan court on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump, 76, is the first ex-president of the United States to face criminal charges.
“WITCH HUNT,” the Republican posted on his Truth Social platform moments before traveling from his residence in Florida to New York on Monday, a trip that was widely covered by US news outlets.
Hundreds of police and judicial officials, as well as Secret Service personnel, are anticipated to accompany Mr. Trump through the streets of New York to the Lower Manhattan court building on Tuesday morning.
The accusations against him will be revealed in detail at the meeting, which is set for 14:15 local time. (19:15 BST). His attorneys have already stated that he will enter a not-guilty plea.
The former president is anticipated to first submit at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
Mr. Trump is deemed arrested and in detention once he has been fingerprinted and handled by authorities. He will then be tried in court, which means the accusations will be given to him and he will enter a plea.
Mr. Trump is being investigated in connection with a $130,000 (£105,000) money transfer to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels by his former counsel, Michael Cohen, prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Mr. Trump has disputed having a physical relationship with Ms. Daniels.
Although secret money deals are not unlawful, the Manhattan DA is examining whether company documents were altered in connection with the payment.
According to US media, Mr. Trump faces at least one criminal allegation in the case. According to other accounts, his charge contains approximately 30 offenses.
Media sources urged Judge Juan Merchan to allow cameras inside the court, which Mr Trump’s legal team resisted because it would “create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment.”
However, on Monday night, Judge Merchan decided that some press cameras will be permitted to take photographs for several minutes before the official hearing begins.
The former president is scheduled to be freed on bond and return to his Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening, where he will make comments at 20:15 local time.
Millions of people were watching his Monday midday journey from Palm Beach to Manhattan.
Throughout the nearly four-hour journey from West Palm Beach to LaGuardia Airport in Queens, live monitors tracked his aircraft, which was decorated red, white, and blue with the word “Trump” in large characters on the side.
The junction around Trump Tower, the former president’s Manhattan home, was packed with New Yorkers and visitors equally as they awaited his arrival.
At least five news aircraft floated high above Fifth Avenue, with dozens of media teams setting up camp on every accessible block.
Mr. Trump nodded to the media and the audience before entering the tower under strict security shortly after 16:15 p.m. local time. (20:15 GMT).
He is said to have spent Monday evening at Trump Tower meeting with legal advisors, a squad that has grown with the inclusion of Todd Blanche, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer, and ex-federal prosecutor who previously defended onetime Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
According to his team, Mr. Trump’s 2024 White House candidacy has gathered more than $8 million since the news of the accusations against him emerged last week.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams cautioned prospective “rabble-rousers” to “control yourselves” during a press briefing on Monday.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia representative, intends to conduct a pro-Trump gathering near the court on Tuesday.
In contrast to the days surrounding the 2021 Capitol disturbance by Trump fans, New York authorities say there has been no inflow of demonstrators to the city in recent days.
President Joe Biden told reporters at a Minnesota gathering on Monday that he had no worries about the turmoil in New York, adding, “I have faith in the New York Police Department.”
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