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Donald Trump heads to NY; faces arraignment

Donald Trump is flying to New York today, according to sources in Florida, ahead of his historic arraignment tomorrow on charges of covering up a hush money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. As the former president packs his overnight case this morning at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, there’s a lot swirling both inside and outside the Manhattan courtroom. New York state supreme court judge Juan Merchan is expected to rule imminently on a motion filed by several media outlets, for permission to broadcast Tuesday afternoon’s hearing. The Associated Press has the story:

Donald Trump heads to NY; faces arraignment

Newslooks- WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)

Former President Donald Trump boarded his private plane Monday and flew from Florida towardNew York ahead of his expected booking and arraignment, as the nation’s largest city bolstered security and warned potential agitators that it is “not a playground for your misplaced anger.”

FILE – Court officers stand guard outside the public entrance to the 80 Centre Street building where a grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments is back in court and hearing evidence related to the case, March 27, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Trump’s ground journey from his Mar-a-Lago club to his red, white and blue Boeing 757, emblazoned with “TRUMP” in gold letters was carried live on national television and took him past supporters waving banners and cheering the former president. They slammed the case against him — stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign —as politically motivated.

Former president Donald Trump waves at the top of the stairs as he boards his plane at Palm Beach International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is heading to New York for his expected booking and arraignment on charges arising from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

The scene is poised be quite different in New York, where Trump built a national profile in business and entertainment but became deeply unpopular as he moved into politics.

His return to the city opens an unprecedented chapter in American history, with Trump being the first former president to face criminal charges even as he is in the midst of a third campaign for the White House, causing major legal, political and cultural events collide in unprecedented ways.

The former president planned to spend the night at Trump Tower, then surrender to authorities on Tuesday for booking and a likely afternoon arraignment. So far, officials have not seen an influx of people coming into the city, as was the case in Washington in the days before the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Demonstrators unveil a banner outside Manhattan’s district attorney office, supporting a grand jury vote to indict former President Donald Trump, Thursday March 30, 2023, in New York. A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, his lawyers said Thursday, producing the first criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trump’s bid to retake the White House.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Still, authorites warned that possessing a weapon in certain areas of the city, including near courthouses, is a crime.

“While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: control yourselves,” said New York Mayor Eric Adams. “New York City is our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger. We are the safest large city in America because we respect the rule of law in New York City.”

Former President Donald Trump left Florida to New York for his expected booking and arraignment the following day on charges stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign — answering for a criminal case unlike any his country has seen.

FILE – Pages from a FBI property list of items seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and made public by the Department of Justice, are photographed Sept. 2, 2022. The hush money case in New York that has led to criminal charges against Donald Trump is one of a number of investigations that could pose legal problems for the former president. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

Trump, already in the midst of a third presidential campaign to try and reclaim the White House he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020, said he will leave his Mar-a-Lago club and fly on his private plane to Manhattan around noon and spend the night at Trump Tower before turning himself in to authorities on Tuesday.

Journalists set up along an airport fence with the flag-adorned tail of the private plane of former President Donald Trump visible in the distance, as Trump was expected to travel later in the day to New York City for his arraignment after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, at Palm Beach International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Trump Tower was open but authorities were planning to close nearby streets as Trump came and went, and additional security was also in the works. They’ve taken steps to close and secure the courthouse floor where the former president is set to appear for an arraignment Tuesday afternoon.

Trump supporters, including one of his staunchest defenders in Congress, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, planned a rally in New York late Tuesday morning, probably before Trump would have to stand before a judge as part of the arraignment.

A pedestrian walks by the entrance of the Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York to face charges related to hush money payments. Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Trump and his aides were eagerly embracing the expected media circus, which might even involve network television helicopters tracking his progress from Mar-a-Lago to the airport for his flight to New York. After initially being caught off guard by news of the indictment when it broke Thursday evening, Trump and his team are focused on using what they call a weak case against Trump to his advantage.

An NYPD officer blocks a street near Trump Tower, Monday, April 3, 2023 in New York. Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York to face charges related to hush money payments. Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Demonstrators supporting Trump began gathering as the Florida sun was just rising at a West Palm Beach shopping center on the way to the airport, hours before he was set to pass along the route.

Boca Raton firefighter Erik Solensten and his retired colleague, John Fischer, got an early start putting up banners. One was 30 by 6 feet (9 by 2 meters), picturing police officers and firefighters saying, “Thanks for having our backs, President Trump.”

Members of the NYPD block off the street near Trump Tower, Monday, April 3, 2023. Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York to face charges related to hush money payments. Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

“We are fire-rescue. We are prepared and don’t like to wait for things to happen,” said Solensten, who took a vacation day to show support for Trump. “He needs morale just like everyone else needs morale. He’s done more for this country than any 10 presidents combined.”

A member of the NYPD places a barricade around Trump Tower, Monday, April 3, 2023. Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York to face charges related to hush money payments. Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down by a Manhattan grand jury last week. The investigation is scrutinizing six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Former president Donald Trump, center, porn actor star Stormy Daniels, left, and model Karen McDougal, right.

Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments, arguing that the case against him is politically motivated.

No former president has ever been indicted and, given Trump’s still active campaign for president, legal and political implications are colliding in an unprecedented ways. Trump spent the weekend golfing and meeting advisers but his campaign says it has raised more than $5 million since word of the indictment broke.

FILE – Adult film actress Stormy Daniels attends a book signing for her memoir “Full Disclosure” at the Museum of Sex on Oct. 8, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Top Republicans, including some of Trump’s potential rivals in next year’s GOP presidential primary, have decried the case against him. Biden and leading Democrats have largely had little to say about it.

An NYPD officer blocks a street near Trump Tower, Monday, April 3, 2023 in New York. Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York to face charges related to hush money payments. Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Solensten said it is wrong that Trump is being charged with a crime stemming from an alleged tryst with a porn star long before he was in office. He said investigators should instead be looking at Biden’s son, Hunter, and his business dealings, which committees in the Republican-controlled House have already begun examining.

“To me, those acts are treasonable,” Solensten said of the Bidens. “But it’s a walk.”

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