Trump arrives in federal court for arraignment in documents case

Trump was set to appear before a federal magistrate judge at a 3 p.m. hearing and enter his “not guilty” plea. The arraignment will trigger a lengthy pretrial process as prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers attempt to hammer out agreements on evidence in the case and schedule a trial.

If found guilty, Trump could face a lengthy prison term. Yet he has already sought to exploit the charges to boost his prospects in the 2024 presidential election.

Trump entered the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. federal courthouse here accompanied by two of his lawyers, even as his Florida legal team remains in flux after several recent resignations by lawyers who had long represented him in the documents investigation.

In the hours leading up to Trump’s arrival, a familiar tension was in the air, as security forces and police ramped up patrols around the courthouse and warned against street clashes and other potential dangers. The atmosphere was reminiscent of Trump’s other criminal arraignment, just 10 weeks ago in a separate case brought by Manhattan prosecutors who say he falsified business records in connection with hush money payments.

This time around, Trump is a federal, not a state, defendant, and legal experts say the documents case carries far more legal risk to him than the New York charges.

Reporters and interested members of the public began lining up at the Miami courthouse on Monday night hoping for a seat in the small courtroom where Trump’s arraignment would occur. The federal judges who work in the courthouse expected massive crowds. The court set up extra “overflow” rooms and adopted new, one-day restrictions on journalists carrying electronics. No cameras are allowed inside.

Also set to appear in court on Tuesday is Nauta, Trump’s longtime valet, who is charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct the grand jury investigation into his alleged retention of highly classified military secrets. Nauta faces six felony counts.

Trump has spent the days since last week’s indictment assailing the Justice Department and seeking, despite the evidence arrayed against him, to cast the prosecution as politically motivated. He has lobbed particularly pointed invective at special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation.

That continued Tuesday, with Trump suggesting — also without evidence — that investigators planted evidence in his home, a case he and his lawyers have notably refused to make in a courtroom.

“They taint everything that they touch, including our country, which is rapidly going to HELL!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning.

Trump’s odyssey through the legal system is only beginning. The New York hush money case is slated for trial in March 2024, and he faces two other investigations into his role in 2020 election meddling.

Tuesday’s arraignment may provide clues on a crucial question: how swiftly the documents case might proceed to trial. Smith has said he hopes to pursue a “speedy trial” but the complexity of the evidence involved — much of which remains classified – may lengthen the time it takes to resolve pretrial matters.

Among the issues still in flux: Trump’s own legal team. He is being accompanied Tuesday by attorneys Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, but he’s been actively looking for additional attorneys since the core of his team handling the documents case resigned. Tim Parlatore quit the team last month amid internal dispute, and two other lawyers – John Rowley and Jim Trusty — resigned around the time of Trump’s indictment.

Outside the courthouse, the tension and theatricality built slowly throughout the day. Armed security personnel were visible all around the courthouse. There were several hundred protesters at the courthouse when Trump arrived, many expressing their support for the former president.

Trump supporters wore shirts backing Trump, saying that he will “give you a war you can’t believe” or “stop my flag and I’ll stomp your face.” There were also people carrying signs reading “lock him up” and “Orange is the new Trump,” a reference to the Netflix show and memoir about a woman who goes to federal prison.

A Trump impersonator showed up, as did a man in an Uncle Sam getup who rode around on a hover board, singing remade lyrics to Elton John’s hit “Rocketman” saying that Biden is a “puppet man.” Dozens of journalists milled about outside the courthouse and multiple TV news trucks were parked around the Miami building.

Josh Gerstein and Andrew Atterbury reported from Miami. Kyle Cheney reported from Washington, D.C. Meridith McGraw also contributed to this report.