Donald Trump arrest: Tempers flare outside Manhattan courthouse
Jack Birle
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Tempers flared outside the Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday ahead of the arraignment and arrest of former President Donald Trump.
A skirmish between pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters began after a woman in a red “MAGA” hat reportedly tried to tear a large banner.
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The large banner said “Trump lies all the time” and the confrontation quickly got heated as members of the media and others closed in on the woman.
A police officer went in and broke apart the confrontation but not before more words could be exchanged between protesters on both sides. Police would eventually separate the protesters, but both sides appear to be fired up from the imminent arrest of the former president.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday the city is prepared for Trump’s arraignment, saying that he has a “lack of concern” over safety because of the capabilities of the New York City Police Department.
Police later appeared to separate the two sides, with a gap enforced through fencing seemingly as a way to prevent more confrontations between the two sides.
Trump is expected to be arraigned and arrested at the courthouse at 2:15 p.m. He is expected to appear before a judge to hear the charges, be fingerprinted, and could have have a mugshot taken. Trump is expected to plead not guilty to the reported 34 felony counts for falsification of business records related to a hush-money payment in 2016
Video cameras will not be permitted inside the courtroom, but a pool of still photographers will be allowed to take photos before the arraignment begins. A line for court access formed overnight, with some waiting in the darkness of the early morning to get a chance to be in the courtroom for the arraignment.
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The judge has not ruled on whether video cameras will be permitted for the trial.
The indictment will not be made public until Trump is arraigned but it appears to have stemmed from an investigation by prosecutors in New York City into allegedly falsified business records regarding a $130,000 reimbursement of Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump. The payment was made in 2016, as Trump was running for president.