Donald Trump indicted: Former president surrenders at Miami courthouse surrounded by supporters
Naomi Lim Kaelan Deese
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MIAMI — Former President Donald Trump has arrived at Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in downtown Miami, the first ex-president to face allegations of federal crimes.
The scene outside the court was first dominated by press Monday but gradually grew to include more supporters of the former president as well some foes celebrating the indictment. Notable allies such as long-shot presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy gave a press conference while conservative activist Laura Loomer spoke to supporters using a megaphone.
Unlike his arraignment in New York last spring, Trump entered the court precinct out of public view. There Trump, along with former White House valet and now personal aide Walt Nauta, who was also indicted by a special counsel Jack Smith-impaneled Miami grand jury, will surrender himself to federal authorities and be processed before his 3 p.m. hearing.
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Nauta will likely have his hand digitally scanned, his photo taken, and undergo a DNA swab around the same time he is shown the indictment. Trump was fingerprinted after he surrendered at the Manhattan district attorney’s office in April during his first indictment on state charges but no mugshot was taken after his arrest.
Trump will appear first before U.S. District Court Magistrate Jonathan Goodman on the 13th floor. Goodman will preside over the arraignment though the case will be overseen by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who faced criticism last year for instructing a special master to oversee the Justice Department‘s classified documents investigation.
Local and federal authorities are on alert for potential violence or unrest. At one point authorities surrounded the scene in riot gear, briefly clearing the area in response to a suspicious object discovered near the courthouse. At around 11:26 a.m. EDT. Members of the public and reporters were allowed back into the area just before 12:30 p.m. EDT.
“Thank you all for the patience,” the Miami Police Department tweeted.
During Ramaswamy’s press conference outside the court, he repeated his vows to pardon Trump in the event his Oval Office bid is successful.
The venture capitalist and presidential long-shot also touted his recent Freedom of Information Act request to receive any communications between President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland related to Smith’s investigation.
“If they don’t comply within 20 days and they don’t follow the law, we will see to it in federal court that they do,” Ramaswamy said.
Ahead of Trump’s arrival, anti-Trump protest activity was largely overshadowed by groups of Trump supporters rallying against the indictment. Some tense exchanges broke out between the former president’s supporters and the minority of people there to celebrate Trump’s second arraignment this year.
At one point, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R), who is rumored to be considering a presidential bid, was walking near the courthouse when he was bombarded by supporters of the former president. One of the protesters could be heard calling Suarez a “deep state swamp monster,” but Suarez told a reporter on the ground he believes the crowds have been peaceful thus far.
Smith’s 37-felony-count, 49-page indictment alleges Trump knowingly and willfully mishandled classified documents after he departed the White House and resisted efforts to return them to the National Archives. The government alleges the former president retained 31 documents related to sensitive defense secrets, from nuclear programs to attack plans, shared them with people without clearances on at least two occasions, and was personally involved in the decision to withhold them. He additionally allegedly stored the documents in unsecured locations, including in his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach resort and club’s ballroom and a nearby bathroom beside a toilet. The charges under the Espionage Act carry a sentence of up to 10 years each, obstructing justice up to 20 years, and making false statements five years.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has promised to continue campaigning regardless of his legal problems.
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“I’ll never leave,” Trump told Politico last weekend. “Look, if I would have left, I would have left prior to the original race in 2016.”
“These people don’t stop and they’re bad and we have to get rid of them,” he added in an address to the Georgia Republican Party. “These criminals cannot be rewarded. They must be defeated.”