Donald Trump said he was being ‘persecuted’ because he lead of his polls and ripped into the ‘filth’ and ‘decay’ in Washington D.C. after pleading not guilty to conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
‘This is a very sad day for America and it was also very sad driving through Washington D.C. and seeing the filth and the decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti,’ he said at Reagan National Airport after his third arraignment in six months.
‘This is not the place that I left. When you look at what’s happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent.
‘This was never supposed to happen in America. This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot. So if you can’t beat him, you persecute them or you prosecute him. We can’t let this happen in America.’
The former president faced the federal judge as she read out the four charges against him related to the January 6 Capitol riot and his plot to stay in power that carry a combined maximum sentence of 55 years in prison.
She set the next hearing for August 28 – five days after the first Republican presidential debate – while his lawyer outside court said the case was a bid to ruin his 2024 campaign.
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Donald Trump said he was being ‘persecuted’ because he lead of his polls and ripped into the ‘filth’ and ‘decay’ in Washington D.C. after pleading not guilty to conspiring to overturn the 2020 election
Before his third arraignment in six months, he vented on Truth Social about being arrested while the Biden family was ‘stealing millions’ in alleged bribes from foreign countries.
The Republican frontrunner referenced the recent bombshell testimony from Hunter’s business partner Devon Archer before his court appearance – just two days after Special Counsel Jack Smith filed the indictment.
Trump said ‘I’m being arrested for you’ and claimed one more indictment would confirm his 2024 win in a slew of messages as Trump Force One passed the Washington Monument before touching down at Reagan National Airport.
His motorcade went through D.C. traffic and drove underneath the court so U.S. Marshals could take him into custody. He was fingerprinted but not handcuffed and did not have to pose for a mugshot.
The charges are conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding.
Donald Trump dramatically returned to Washington D.C. on Thursday to face a federal judge on charges he illegally tried to cling onto power following his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden
The defiant former president vented on Truth Social about facing his third arraignment and indictment in six months while the Biden family was ‘stealing millions’ in alleged bribes from foreign countries
Trump is seen in the back of his SUV as it turns into the courthouse in downtown D.C.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba told reporters outside the court that the charges against him are a bid to upend his 2024 campaign
Outside the court, his attorney Alina Habba called the case ‘election interference and its finest’ against a candidate with a substantial poll lead.
She claimed every raid or indictment against the former president came just 24 hours after a Biden scandal.
‘This is election interference at its finest against the leading candidate right now for president for either party. President Trump is under siege in a way we have never seen before,’ she said.
Trump arrived as law enforcement in the nation’s capital ramped up security and braced for protests for another dramatic court appearance.
‘Biden and his family steal Millions and Millions of Dollars, including BRIBES from foreign countries, and I’m headed to D.C. to be ARRESTED for protesting a CROOKED ELECTION. UNFAIR VENUE FOR UNFAIR JUDGE. We are a Nation in Decline. MAGA!!!’ he wrote during the flight to Washington D.C.
In his all-caps signature style, Trump wrote: ‘I am now going to Washington, D.C., to be arrested for having challenged a corrupt, rigged and stolen election.’
‘It is a great honor because I am being arrested for you,’ the ex-president touted. ‘Make America Great Again!!!’
Special Counsel Jack Smith announced the four new charges on Tuesday following an investigation into Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the efforts to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election.
A grand jury voted to indict Trump on conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy against citizens’ rights, obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering.
Law enforcement erected barriers around the courthouse on Constitution Avenue on Wednesday night in preparation for Trump’s appearance.
Habba claimed that every raid or indictment against the former president came just 24 hours after a Biden scandal
Trump’s SUV drives past supporters and turns into the Elijah Barrett Prettyman courthouse before the hearing
Trump said ‘I’m being arrested for you’ in a slew of messages as Trump Force One (pictured above) flew past the Washington Monument before touching down at Reagan National Airport
Trump ducks into the back of an SUV for the drive to the courtroom in the heart of the nation’s capital
The arraignment is being overseen by Biden-appointed Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya – a different judge will handle the criminal trial.
Trump’s top 2024 competitor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said after news broke of the indictment that Americans should have the legal ability to move their cases out of D.C.’s jurisdiction because ‘swamp mentality’ could affect jurors.
The ex-President agrees, posting to his Truth Social on Tuesday night that it’s ‘impossible’ that he will be given a fair trial in D.C.
‘The latest Fake ‘case’ brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!’ he wrote on his social media platform. ‘IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness.’
He added: ‘It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!’
Trump walks out of his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to start his journey
Trump walks up the stairs of Trump Force Once at Newark, New Jersey, for his flight to D.C. to face a judge on charges he knowingly peddled lies about the 2020 election and tried to cling onto power
Trump supporters and critics set up around the courthouse amid the crush of media and onlookers
Eric Lamar holds an anti-Trump sign while surrounded by protestors and supporters
Law enforcement erected barriers around the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday in preparation for Donald Trump’s arraignment on Thursday afternoon
Media started setting up outside the courthouse on Constitution Ave. Wednesday
Trump says it’s ‘impossible’ for him to have a ‘fair trial in Washington, D.C.’ because the nation’s capital is ‘over 95% anti-Trump’ – he urged that the case be moved to the ‘politically unbiased nearby state of West Virginia’
City workers put up bike racks and other barriers around the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse on Tuesday and Wednesday
U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, Park Police, Marshals Service and the Federal Protective Service are all on high-alert for the indictment
The indictments and growing legal woes facing Trump are only bolstering his support among Republican voters.
In March, before his first indictment, Trump was earning 43 percent of the GOP primary vote, according to a RealClearPolitics average. A day after he was charged in the case involving hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, his support jumped to 50 percent in the same tracking.
A few months later in early June, Trump was indicted for a second time on 37 charges related to mishandling classified documents he was privy to while President. His polling average jumped again to 55 percent.
Polling on RealClearPolitics only tracks until Monday, August 1 – a day before the third and latest indictment – but it still shows Trump far in the lead against his 14 GOP challengers.
A protester in a striped prisoner outfit stands outside the courthouse on Wednesday holding up a photoshopped image of a bald Trump in an orange prison jumpsuit with the words: ‘You do the crime you pay the time. Your time is up’