After the indictment hearing in New York, Donald Trump must now appear in court again. Another spectacle is to be expected in Miami – and an accused who is not aware of any guilt.
The former US President is due to appear in court in Miami today following the historic indictment against Donald Trump over the handling of classified government documents affair.
Radical supporters of the Republican presidential candidate previously struck martial tones, which sparked fears of possible violence. Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said security forces are well positioned to ensure the situation does not escalate.
It is the first time a federal indictment has been filed against a former US President. Trump had already been charged at the state level in New York in April in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. Other cases against Trump are also under investigation. So far, the allegations in connection with the documents have weighed the most heavily from a legal point of view.
The allegations against Trump
In August, the Federal Police FBI searched Trump’s private home Mar-a-Lago in Florida and confiscated numerous classified documents from his tenure, some with the highest classification level. Mar-a-Lago is a club with paying guest rooms and public events. By storing confidential government documents in private rooms after his term in office, Trump could have made himself liable to prosecution.
He is accused of conspiring to obstruct investigations and illegally storing highly sensitive information. According to the indictment, these included details of the nuclear capabilities of the United States and other countries, military weaknesses in the defenses of the United States and its partners, and information about potential military action.
The explosive indictment
The indictment charges Trump with seven categories of misdemeanor and a total of more than 35 felonies. The details in the 49-page paper are explosive. It says, for example, that Trump kept boxes of classified information in his bedroom, a bathroom, a shower, a ballroom and a storage room, among other places. Some boxes would have stood temporarily in a room where public events were taking place. A storage room was easily accessible via a public pool area.
In the indictment, the investigators detail how Trump spoke to other people about classified information or showed it to unauthorized third parties, based on audio recordings, among other things.
The sequence
Trump arrived in Miami yesterday and set up camp at his luxurious resort, Doral. The court date, at which the indictment is to be read out, is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. CET) today. Trump will then be taken into temporary custody. Fingerprints are usually taken from suspects at these appointments, classic police photos are taken and handcuffs are often put on. How exactly the process will be with Trump was unclear in advance. In New York, the authorities had given Trump no handcuffs and a photo.
It is also considered certain that Trump will leave the court again after the formal procedure. The Republican then plans to fly from Florida to New Jersey, where he has announced to address supporters at his golf club in Bedminster later in the evening.
The safety precautions
Several Trump supporters from the right-wing edge of the Republican Party had made martial statements after the indictment, sparking fears that violence could break out. MP Andy Biggs wrote on Twitter: “We have now entered a phase of war. An eye for an eye.” Arizona Republican Kari Lake said anyone trying to get to Trump must first get past her and millions of armed Americans.
In the face of possible protests, Miami deployed a large security presence. Police Chief Morales said there were enough resources for a crowd of up to 50,000 protesters. “We take this event very seriously,” he said. “We know things could take a turn for the worst, but that’s not Miami’s way.”
However, the courthouse was not initially sealed off. Only yellow barrier tapes fluttered there. In front of the courthouse, however, there has been a large media rush for days. And already yesterday there was a long queue of those who wanted to get a seat in the courtroom.
The Trump fans
Some Trump supporters gathered on the side of the road in front of Trump’s resort Doral. As his black motorcade rolled by, they waved flags and cheered him on. Aileen, a Florida woman in her 50s, said in an angry voice that she was standing there because the charges were politically motivated. “It’s a two-tier justice system, we’re fed up with it.” The Democrats are the millionaires’ party, Trump is the president of the hard-working, forgotten population. A sentence like this in front of the walls of a property with several golf courses and pools sounds almost ironic, the luxury of which one can hardly imagine on the stuffy street.
Another woman said she supports Trump because the “deep state” wants to bring him down. The term is based on the conspiracy theory that secret powers are pulling the strings in the background of political decisions. Pete Crotty, a Trump fan who peddled Trump merchandise in front of his red pickup truck decorated with flags, shares his belief that Trump was only targeted because he was the most likely Republican presidential contender.
Trump set this narrative. The 76-year-old rejects the allegations against himself and sees the charges as a politically motivated attempt to keep him from a second term. He speaks of “political contract killing” and “waging war” with legal means.