Donald Trump to appear in Washington DC federal court

Former President Donald Trump is set to return to Washington Thursday afternoon to be arraigned on federal charges that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The 77-year-old is scheduled to appear at 4 p.m. at a courthouse just a few blocks away from the US Capitol, which hundreds of his supporters stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump urged them to “fight like hell” and told them that the election had been “stolen.”  

In what has become a familiar routine for Trump, who has now been indicted three times in three different jurisdictions, the former commander-in-chief will be processed by law enforcement, be taken into custody and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge before being released.

Trump’s legal team is expected to argue that his incendiary comments about the vote being “rigged” in the lead-up to the Capitol riot were constitutionally protected speech, and that he was merely following his lawyers’ good-faith advice by trying to line up alternate electors in battleground states to cast their votes for him.

Journalists and ordinary citizens began lining up outside the courthouse overnight, hoping to score seats to the spectacle.

Members of the Secret Service and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department swept the grounds at 9 a.m., seven hours before Trump’s proceedings were due to begin. A police dog, a black Labrador named Legend, cased the media room where 100 reporters would monitor the hearing.

There were no signs of pro- or anti-Trump protesters Thursday morning, but MPD promised they were working with the feds “to monitor the situation and plan accordingly to ensure the safety of D.C. residents.”

On the eve of his court date, Trump thanked his supporters in a characteristically all-caps post on Truth Social.

“I HAVE NEVER HAD SO MUCH SUPPORT ON ANYTHING BEFORE,” he proclaimed. “THIS UNPRECEDENTED INDICTMENT OF A FORMER (HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL!) PRESIDENT, & THE LEADING CANDIDATE, BY FAR, IN BOTH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION, HAS AWOKEN THE WORLD TO THE CORRUPTION, SCANDAL, & FAILURE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. AMERICA IS A NATION IN DECLINE, BUT WE WILL MAKE IT GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE.”

“I LOVE YOU ALL!!!” he concluded.

Trump’s ignominious return to the nation’s capital comes just two days after special counsel Jack Smith indicted the ex-president on four felony counts related to his alleged attempts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, including conspiracy to defraud the US government, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. 

If convicted of the charges, Trump could face up to 55 years in prison – but that would not exclude him from contesting the 2024 presidential election, in which he is currently the front-runner for the GOP nomination.  

Smith said in a public statement that he was seeking a speedy trial, but Trump’s lawyer John Lauro has openly admitted he plans to slow the case down so that the defense team can conduct its own investigation — and conveniently delay any actual trial until after Election Day

Thursday’s arraignment will be handled by US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadyaha. But going forward, the case will be taken over by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan — an appointee of President Barack Obama who has gained a reputation for meting out tough sentences to Capitol riot suspects.  

Trump is the only person charged in the case, although the bombshell indictment referenced six alleged co-conspirators — five of whom have been identified NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Trump attorneys John Eastman and Sidney Powell, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and another Trump-linked attorney, Kenneth Chesebro.

The indictment details how Trump and his cohorts mounted what Smith described as an attack on a “bedrock function of the US government” by making “knowingly false” for two months that he won the election — and pressuring Vice President Mike Pence and state election officials to help him cling to power despite losing to Joe Biden.

This is the third criminal case brought against Trump since late March. Smith has previously charged him with 40 felony counts related to his hoarding of classified national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Separately, Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury in March for falsifying business records to conceal “hush money” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in both those cases, which are set for trial next year – even as he continues to furiously campaign for the GOP nomination.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., are gearing up to announce later this month whether they would pursue charges against the former president stemming from his alleged efforts to undermine election results in that state.

Additional reporting by Caitlin Doornbos in Washington.