Former President Donald Trump was arraigned in Washington, DC, federal court Thursday for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Trump, 77, surrendered to law enforcement and pleaded not guilty to a four-count indictment from the Justice Department for disrupting the peaceful transfer of power with his “stolen” election claims that culminated in the storming of the US Capitol building by hundreds of his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Special counsel Jack Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the US government, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
The indictment states Trump made “knowingly false” claims about the 2020 election and unlawfully pressured former Vice President Mike Pence and various state officials to reject President Biden’s victory.
Trump and Smith reportedly exchanged glances inside the courtroom on Thursday — and the former president gazed backward a few times at the roughly 100 spectators and reporters allotted seats for the hearing.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 55 years in federal prison, but the case is unlikely to be decided before Election Day 2024.
Trump lawyer John Lauro has indicated the former president’s legal team will launch their own counter-investigation into Smith’s indictment claims, pushing the trial date back months.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump urged protesters to demonstrate “peacefully and patriotically” but also to “fight like hell” against efforts by Congress to certify the presidential election results.
The 45th president is the first current or former commander-in-chief to be indicted by the federal government. He remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential primary by a margin of more than 30 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Biden, 80, has remained aloof from the proceedings while on vacation, telling reporters as he pedaled by on his bike Thursday that he wasn’t going to watch the arraignment.
US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadyaha presided over the arraignment hearing on Thursday but will be succeeded by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama and handed down harsh sentences to several Capitol riot defendants.
Trump critics including Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn, retired Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who responded to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were also seen entering the federal court house earlier.
Trump appeared grim as he left his Boeing 757 at Reagan National Airport before his arraignment, but gave a brief wave to cameras as he descended the staircase from Trump Force One.
Scores of protesters began gathering outside the E. Barrett Prettyman Court House in Washington ahead of the historic arraignment, with some cheering the prospect of a Trump prison sentence and others expressing disappointment.
Domenic Santana, an anti-Trump protester who was arrested for nearly blocking the former president’s motorcade as it left his June arraignment in Florida, made a dramatic reappearance and called for a conviction clad in black-and-white prison garb.
On Thursday at noon, Trump took to Truth Social to protest the indictment.
“I AM NOW GOING TO WASHINGTON, D.C., TO BE ARRESTED FOR HAVING CHALLENGED A CORRUPT, RIGGED, & STOLEN ELECTION,” he said. “IT IS A GREAT HONOR, BECAUSE I AM BEING ARRESTED FOR YOU. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump also took a swipe at Ron DeSantis, his next closest competitor in the 2024 GOP primary contest, posting a video montage of the 44-year-old Florida governor praising him in the past.
Smith also indicted Trump in June on 37 counts for allegedly retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate — and then lying to his lawyers and federal authorities about his actions.
The prosecutor subsequently added three more charges alleging the property manager of the Palm Beach, Fla., resort deleted security camera footage of the incident and helped Trump’s body man move boxes containing the documents.
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton warned that the dueling Smith indictments were like “a modified form of Russian roulette” — and could give his former boss a huge advantage in the 2024 Republican primary if he avoids conviction.
In April, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted the ex-president on 34 counts of business fraud for allegedly concealing business records to hide “hush money” payments before the 2016 election to a porn star.
And Trump could face a fourth indictment on racketeering charges from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for his efforts to pressure officials to reverse the 2020 election outcome in Georgia.