Former US President Donald Trump has arrived at the court in Washington to read a new indictment against him. The Republican’s motorcade reached the courthouse in the US capital on Thursday afternoon (local time).
Trump previously railed against the judiciary again. “The Democrats don’t want to run against me, otherwise they wouldn’t use ‘justice’ as a weapon in such an unprecedented way,” wrote the Republican presidential candidate on the platform Truth Social, which he co-founded, shortly before his personal appearance in court in Washington. It was “an honor” for him to be arrested there for his actions against a corrupt election, he wrote to his supporters, “because I am being arrested for you”.
Trump is to be formally presented with the new indictment in court in the US capital. At these appointments, the accused are formally “taken into custody”. That also applies to Trump – but only for a short time. He is to leave the court immediately after the presentation of the indictment. Trump is the first ex-president in US history who has to answer to a court for an alleged crime – and in several cases.
The series of charges
The new indictment is the second federal indictment against Trump and the third overall. In recent months, Trump has been indicted on two other counts: in connection with paying hush money to a porn star several years ago and for improperly storing classified government documents after the end of his tenure.
Now he is confronted with the most serious allegations to date. The 45-page new indictment charges Trump with four formal charges, including conspiracy against the United States. For the first time, it is about alleged crimes during his tenure in the White House. If convicted, the 77-year-old could face decades in prison. According to experts, a conviction would not legally prevent Trump from running in the 2024 election – especially since it is highly questionable whether a final judgment will be available by then.
The court date
There was an enormous media rush in front of the courthouse in Washington on Thursday. However, almost no supporters or opponents of Trump came to the court. A Trump critic, Domenic Santana, roamed around the building wearing an inmate costume and holding a sign that read “Lock him up.” He had traveled to Trump’s previous indictment hearings in New York and Miami. “He’s a scammer,” Santana scolded Trump. Not far from him, an iron Trump supporter, Dion Cini, waved a huge flag with the ex-president’s likeness. Trump is the best president the country has ever had, said Cini. The judiciary is only trying to keep Trump from another presidency with the indictment.
At the appointment late Thursday evening German time, Trump should formally open the allegations against him. As in the other two cases, he is expected to plead not guilty through his attorneys. Trump denies all allegations and sees any legal action against him as an attempt by his opponents to prevent him from returning to the White House. According to polls, he is far ahead in the field of Republican presidential candidates.
The indictment
Special Counsel Jack Smith announced the unprecedented charges against the former President on Tuesday. Trump is accused of orchestrating a conspiracy to defraud the United States, disenfranchise voters and obstruct an official process. In the indictment, Trump is accused of spreading false claims about the election despite knowing better, and also instrumentalizing people in the Justice Department to do so. “Despite his defeat, the accused was determined to remain in power,” it says. Trump knew his fraud allegations were untrue.
Trump led a conspiracy against the United States. He had teamed up with six accomplices who are not mentioned by name in the indictment. They are four lawyers, one member of the judiciary and one political adviser.
Trump’s anti-election campaign
Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. He never admitted his defeat, however, and has since spread false claims that he was robbed of a victory through electoral fraud. At the time, Trump and those around him tried various ways to subsequently overturn the result.
The campaign against the outcome of the election finally culminated in an unprecedented outbreak of violence on January 6, 2021: On that day, Trump supporters stormed the seat of the US Congress, where Biden’s election victory was to be formally confirmed at the time. Trump had once again goaded his supporters in a speech shortly before, claiming that he had been deprived of a victory by massive election fraud. Several people died in the riots.
