Trump pictured in court becoming first ex-US President to face criminal charges
In an extraordinary moment in US history, Donald Trump has been pictured in court as he becomes the first former US President to face criminal charges.
Mr Trump surrendered to the Criminal Court in Manhattan, New York, this afternoon and was arrested before hearing his criminal charges read to him. They stem from alleged hush money payments paid in 2016, to cover up alleged extramarital affairs.
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges, as expected.
Escorted by Secret Service agents in a motorcade, Mr Trump left Trump Tower for the district attorney's office, which is in the same court building, where he was booked and had his fingerprints taken.
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Trump looks to the side as he sits in court (Seth Wenig/AP/REX/Shutterstock)As agreed in a deal struck by his legal team, he was not handcuffed. He was also not photographed for a mugshot.
Trump reached the 15th floor courtroom about 70 minutes after he entered the courthouse to surrender and be booked ahead of the hearing.
Trump did not acknowledge a television camera sending live images from the hallway outside the courtroom.
Judge Juan Merchan has ruled that TV cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom. Trump's attorneys had previously declared multiple times that he will plead not guilty.
Trump with his team tonight (Seth Wenig/AP/REX/Shutterstock)After he was processed, Mr Trump was taken through a back set of hallways and elevators to the floor where the courtroom is located.
Judge Juan Merchan will tonight unseal the indictment, publicly revealing his charges for the first time.
Mr Trump then formally faced the charges and pleaded not guilty, as he and his lawyers had previously repeatedly declared.
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News outlets were blocked from broadcasting the proceedings inside the courthouse after the judge rejected such requests made by the media industry.
Wearing a navy blue suit and a bright red tie, Trump entered the courthouse around 12:20 p.m. to surrender on the charges and be processed before the hearing.
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Mr Trump is expected to be granted bail without any travel restrictions or other conditions, before exiting the courthouse to be picked up again by his motorcade.
The process is set to last around 20-30 minutes before Mr Trump was set to head to New York's LaGuardia airport and fly back to Florida, landing at Palm Beach International Airport.
He has previously said that he will deliver a speech in Mar-a-Lago tonight.
Mr Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina said Tuesday that the former president wouldn't plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it might resolve the case.
He said he didn't believe the case would ever make it to a jury, but conceded, "Really, there's a lot of mystery here because we're doing something that's never been done before."
Mr Trump waved as he exited Trump Tower to head to the Manhattan courthouse (CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
(JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"I think there will be typical processing, which does not take long, 20-30 minutes. There won't be handcuffs," Tacopina told ABC's "Good Morning America." "But, yeah, he'll be processed the way anyone else would be — to a degree."
A conviction would not prevent Mr Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
The indictment contains multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence, two people familiar with the matter said last week.
Donald Trump arrives at court (Mary Altaffer/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The investigation is scrutinising six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Mr Trump years before he got into politics.
Mr Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.
The arraignment will unfold against the backdrop of heavy security in New York, coming more than two years after Mr Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol in a failed bid to halt the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's win.
Supporters of Trump earlier gathered near the courthouse ahead of his arraignment (Getty Images)Though police said they had no intelligence suggesting any violence was likely, they were on high alert for any potential disruptions.
"While there may be some rabble-rousers thinking of coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: Control yourselves," Mayor Eric Adams said.
He also singled out Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Mr Trump's staunchest supporters in Congress, who is organizing a rally Tuesday at a park across from the courthouse: "While you're in town, be on your best behaviour," Adams said.
A supporter of former US President Donald Trump stood outside the District Attorneys office (AFP via Getty Images)Straight after his indictment was announced on Thursday last week, Mr Trump sent out an email to his supporters asking for donations towards his presidential campaign.
He later said that within the first 48 hours, he had collected over $5 million (£4.03 million).
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