Donald Trump was indicted for a third time on Tuesday on four federal charges stemming from an investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The indictment marks the second set of federal charges the ex-president is facing and the third indictment overall, since January.
This means Mr Trump will have to appear in federal court, again, to be formally charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights and obstruction of, and attempt to obstruct, an official proceeding.
The ex-president is expected to turn himself in at the Elijah Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC on Thursday afternoon at 4pm ET.
Magistrate Judge Moxila A Upadhyaya will be presiding over the arraignment during which she will explain Mr Trump’s rights and the charges he is facing.
Mr Trump’s case has been randomly assigned to District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama in 2014.
Unlike his two previous arraignments, Mr Trump has the option to appear virtually via video feed on Thursday – though it is unclear if he will do so.
Mr Trump’s attorney, John Lauro, told CNN that Judge Chutkan may make the final call on whether he must appear in person or can do so virtually.
Should Mr Trump appear in-person he will likely be fingerprinted before heading into the courtroom.
The ex-president will most likely not be handcuffed or receive a mugshot as he has not done either in his previous arraignments. When Mr Trump was arraigned in Manhattan earlier this year for 37 charges related to falsifying business records he did not receive a mugshot because he is a public figure.
Ahead of his arraignment, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, indicating several law enforcement agencies were working together to prepare for Mr Trump’s arraignment safely.
“We are working closely with the Metropolitan Police Department, US Marshals Service, US Park Police, Us Capitol Police and the Federal Protective Service to ensure the highest levels of safety and security for the former president, while minimizing disruptions to the normal court process,” Mr Guglielmi wrote.
The four federal charges were brought forth after a grand jury in Washington DC voted in favour of indicting Mr Trump.
The charges come from an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith into Mr Trump’s claims of election fraud in 2020 and his actions leading up to January 6.
Mr Trump is expected to plead not guilty to the four federal charges.
