Trump pleads ‘not guilty’ in Miami federal courthouse, prays with supporters after his arraignment

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. Trump was booked on 37 criminal charges in the classified documents probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. He pleaded “not guilty.” 

If convicted, the 2024 Republican frontrunner could potentially face prison time.

Trump, who is the first former U.S. president to face federal charges, was taken into custody and placed under arrest before his arraignment. During the proceedings, he was electronically fingerprinted but spared a mugshot given his public profile. 

Outside the court, Trump was welcomed by supporters holding his presidential campaign signs. Opponents, on the other hand, chanted slogans such as “lock him up” and “Trump is toast.” 

The former president sent a letter to his followers earlier in the day through his platform, Truth Social, in which he claimed the timing of his “unjust indictment” was “no coincidence.”  

“Crooked Joe’s Department of Injustice is not just attempting to silence and IMPRISON his leading political opponent (me, an INNOCENT man), they’re actively COVERING UP one of the biggest scandals in our nation’s history!” Trump wrote. “On the very same day that the Biden-appointed Special Counsel unjustly indicts me on the ‘Boxes Hoax,’ credible evidence is brought to light showing that Crooked Joe and his Crime Family collected at least $10 MILLION IN BRIBES from a foreign national.”

He added: “It’s very simple, this is a smoke-and-mirrors witch hunt designed to ELIMINATE our campaign and divert the American peoples’ eyes from Crooked Joe Biden’s REAL CRIME. At this point, you can’t even call this a two-tiered justice system. There is no justice at all in Biden’s America.” 

Following his arraignment, the former president made a stop at a Miami café. According to Fox News, he was greeted at the place by religious leaders and supporters who prayed with him and sang “Happy Birthday” ahead of his birthday tomorrow. 

Trump later posted, "Thank you Miami. Such a warm welcome on such a SAD DAY for our Country!".

While some Republican commentators like Fox News anchor Mark Levin see the indictment as a politicization of the justice system, Trump’s own former Attorney General Bill Barr differs. Barr believes that unlike in the Russia investigation, presenting Trump as a victim of a witch hunt, in this case, is “ridiculous.”

Other prominent Republican figures believe that both Barr and Levin could be correct. Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley said, “The fact is both things may be true. Yes, the Department of Justice may have been out to get him, but he made it easy.”

Daily Wire host and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro struck a similar note, claiming that the double-standard against Trump compared to Hillary Clinton or Biden is “true” but added that “it is also true that Trump is going to have a very tough time in a courtroom explaining his behavior.”

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy delivered a statement in a news conference he organized outside the courthouse on Tuesday. Ramaswamy said he sent letters to his fellow 2024 GOP contenders in the race, as well as Democratic candidates Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling on them to commit to pardoning Trump if it comes down to it.

“Each of our paths to electoral success would be easier if President Trump were eliminated from competition, but that is the wrong result for our country,” read the letter. 

Vivek warned of a “politicized” justice system, adding that even though as president he would have made different judgments than Donald Trump, “a bad judgment is not illegal behavior.” 

Trump’s legal spokesperson, Alina Habba, also addressed the media outside the courthouse and pointed to alleged double standard in the Department of Justice's treatment of Trump. She compared it to the way Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were handled, stressing that neither came into possession of classified documents while they were president or had the power to declassify them.

“The decision to pursue charges against President Trump while turning a blind eye to others is an emblematic of the corruption that we have here,” Habba said. "We are at a turning point in our nation’s history. The targeting prosecution of a leading political opponent is the type of thing you see in dictatorships, like Cuba and Venezuela."