Trump receives hero’s welcome as he cries ‘political persecution’ after federal indictment

Former President Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome Tuesday night as he returned to his New Jersey golf club after pleading not guilty in Miami federal court to more than three dozen charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021.

After taking the stage to the strains of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” Trump told a crowd of about a couple hundred supporters he had undergone “political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.”

Fewer than six hours earlier, the 45th president was arraigned on 37 counts, 31 of which accused the 76-year-old of unlawful retention of national security information.

The remaining charges include one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, one count of scheming to conceal a document or record and one count of making false statements.

The retained material allegedly included an “attack plan” for a foreign country and intelligence information shared with US allies, some of which was shared with people who lack security clearances.

This is a developing story.