Lucas Camp, of Astoria, holds a sign near Trump Tower, Tuesday, April 4, 2023 in New York. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.
Journalists gather across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.
Journalists gather across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.
A line for court access is formed outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury.
NEW YORK (AP) — Live updates on former President Donald Trump's expected surrender on charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.
What to know:
— Trump's supporters plan rally in his hometown
— Prosecutor has arrived at courthouse
— Lawyer says Trump will maintain innocence in court
RALLY FOR TRUMP
People began gathering Tuesday morning for a rally for Donald Trump in a park outside the courthouse where the former president is scheduled to be arraigned.
The rally with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was scheduled to start several hours ahead of Trump’s court appearance.
Some anti-Trump protesters also appeared, unfurling a large banner saying “Trump Lies All the Time.”
Trump supporters also are expected expected to gather at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Tuesday night as he returns. ___
PROSECUTOR ARRIVES
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrived at court Tuesday morning in New York ahead of former President Donald Trump's arraignment.
Bragg became Manhattan’s first Black district attorney in 2022, following his election the previous November. He inherited a yearslong grand jury investigation into hush money paid on Trump’s behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign.
After taking office, Bragg slowed his office’s move toward an indictment of Trump and said he had concerns about the strength of the case. That sparked a public protest by two prosecutors who were leading the investigation and resigned.
But Bragg convened a new grand jury this year after convicting Trump’s family company for tax fraud. He called that result a “strong demarcation line” for proceeding with other parts of the probe.
TRUMP ATTORNEY: ‘NO GUILTY PLEA'
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said the former president's appearance in court for Tuesday’s arraignment would be brief because the processing “does not take long.”
“It won’t be a long day in court,” he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America."
"We know the basis of the indictment and the factual allegations in the indictment,” Tacopina said, adding that Trump would maintain his innocence.
“One thing I can assure you as I sit here today: There’ll be no guilty plea in this case. That’s one thing I can guarantee you,” he said.
Tacopina appeared to predict that the case would ultimately be dismissed.
“I don’t think this case is going to see a juror,” he said. “I think there’s a legal challenge that will be made and should be made successfully.”
SPECTATORS LINE UP
Spectators, many of them members of the news media, lined up overnight to get a seat inside the courtroom, or even just a glimpse of Trump, who wasn’t expected until Tuesday afternoon.
The building was surrounded by barricades, and people were undergoing layers of security checks. The reporters waiting in line were camped out under tents with lawn chairs, blankets and pizza boxes.
The nation’s 45th commander in chief was expected to be escorted from Trump Tower — which was also surrounded by barricades — to a lower Manhattan courthouse by the Secret Service.
Police braced for protests from supporters of Trump, a Republican who is running for the White House again in 2024. He called the decision by a grand jury to indict him “political persecution and election interference at the highest level.”
Prosecutors investigated money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep the women from going public with claims that they had sex with him.
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