Donald Trump is gearing up with his legal team for his appearance in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday as he prepares to face history-making criminal charges.
It will be the first time he will hear the exact details of his criminal charges, which stem from 2016 hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The former president will be fingerprinted, hear his charges and is expected to plead not guilty in the short appearance. He may have a mug shot taken.
The Secret Service will escort Mr Trump from his New York Trump Tower to lower Manhattan for the appearance, and police are braced for protests by his supporters outside.
Groups gathered outside on Monday night, including clergy praying for peace and anti-Trump protesters holding placards reading ‘Lock him up!’.
Mr Trump’s supporters share his belief that the New York grand jury indictment - and three additional pending investigations - are politically motivated and intended to weaken his bid to retake the White House in 2024.
The former reality-TV star has been using that narrative to his political advantage, raising millions of dollars since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt”.
He has personally assailed the Manhattan district attorney, egged on supporters to protest, and claimed without evidence that the judge presiding over the case “hates me” - something Mr Trump’s own lawyer has said is not true.
Mr Trump is scheduled to return to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening to hold a rally. A conviction would not prevent Mr Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Inside the Manhattan courtroom, prosecutors led by New York’s district attorney, Alvin Bragg, are expected to unseal the indictment issued last week by a grand jury. This is when Mr Trump and his defence lawyers will get their first glimpse of the precise allegations against him.
The indictment includes multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press last week.
After the arraignment, Mr Trump is expected to be released by authorities because the charges against him do not require that bail be set.
The investigation is scrutinising six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics.
Mr Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.
Top Republicans, including some of Trump’s potential rivals in next year’s GOP presidential primary, have decried the case against him. US President Joe Biden and leading Democrats have largely had little to say about it.
