Trump surrenders at New York courthouse; Former U.S president faces judge at 2:15 p.m. EST
Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. Follow live updates here all day.
1:36 p.m. Trump's motorcade from his residence at Trump Towers to the Manhattan courthouse consisted of 11 vehicles, led by an NYPD car.
Just beyond the midpoint of that motorcade was another NYPD car and an ambulance.
It's a significantly smaller motorcade than the former president is used to; a presidential motorcade would have been three or four times larger, with much greater police presence.
Although it seems portions of the route have been cleared, other portions are still open. For a portion of the route, his motorcade was trailed by a yellow school bus. - Steve McKinley
Trump arrives at Manhattan courthouse1:24 p.m. Donald Trump has arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where he is expected to be arraigned and arrested. Trump's trip to the courthouse from Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan took less than 15 minutes. The roads were cleared as the former president made his way downtown with a secret service motorcade. Trump promptly exited the vehicle and entered the courthouse, where he will be fingerprinted. - Joshua Chong
Trump departs Trump Tower1:09 p.m. (updated) Donald Trump has left Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue and is heading down to the New York City courthouse where he is expected to voluntarily surrender on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment during his 2016 campaign.
As he exited the tower, Trump was greeted by a crowd of supporters and critics. A motorcade of vehicles is accompanying the president to the courthouse.
The former president will face a judge at 2:15 p.m. The New York City Police Department previously said there would be intermittent road closures throughout the day. - Joshua Chong
Hundreds gathering at Collect Pond Park in Manhattan12:45 p.m. A small park built on a site that was once a swampy, sewage-filled pond is ground zero for the frenzy surrounding Trump's expected surrender Tuesday at a courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
Hundreds of onlookers, protesters, journalists and a few attention-seeking politicians are gathered in the confines of Collect Pond Park.
The crowd is small, by the standards of New York City protests, which routinely draw thousands.
Metal barricades separate Trump supporters from anti-Trump protesters, and police have stepped in to break up small skirmishes.
Read the full story from the Associated Press
12:10 p.m. Democratic New York congressman Jamaal Bowman criticized Marjorie Taylor Greene for protesting Donald Trump's arraignment. Go back to your district. What are you doing here? You're here for politics, you're here because you want to be VP, you're here for your own fundraising, you're here for your own nonsense," he said in a scrum with reporters late this morning.
Earlier today, Greene along with other Trump supporters protested the criminal charges levelled against Trump. -Joshua Chong
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks briefly amid shouts11:30 a.m. (updated) Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene quickly left a protest after being shouted down by anti-Trump protesters. Greene was speaking to supporters of Trump at Collect Pond Park while facing a swarm of counter-protesters and media.
A large crowd surrounded the Georgia Republican, once shunned by the GOP as a political pariah for her extremist rhetoric, as she made her way through a park.
In video of the remarks, Greene thanked patriotic Trump supporters who are here today." She called Republicans the party of peace" and called Democrats the party of violence."
In an interview posted online, Greene said she planned to speak with media from a car and accused counter-protesters of assault for blowing whistles and shouting as she spoke.
10:32 a.m. Trump is expected to return to Mar-a-Lago immediately following his arraignment in New York on Tuesday afternoon. The former president has scheduled a primetime address for Tuesday evening at his Palm Beach resort. The remarks are scheduled to begin at 8:15 p.m. local time. -Joshua Chong
George Santos joins Trump supporters outside courthouse9:55 a.m. (updated) Republican House Representative George Santos, a staunch Trump ally, was spotted in front of the Manhattan courthouse where the former president is set to appear this afternoon.
Santos, whose lies and embellishments about his resume and personal life have drawn deep scrutiny, was swarmed by media outside the court.
In a scrum, Santos said he was there in support of the president."
Trump to fly back to Florida immediately after arraignment9:50 a.m. People began gathering Tuesday morning for a rally for Donald Trump in a park outside the courthouse where the former president is scheduled to be arraigned.
The rally with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was scheduled to start several hours ahead of Trump's court appearance.
Some anti-Trump protesters also appeared, unfurling a large banner saying Trump Lies All the Time."
Trump supporters also are expected expected to gather at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Tuesday night as he returns.
9:20 a.m. The public likely won't know the details about Donald Trump's arraignment until it is over, after the judge overseeing the case denied a formal request from news organizations to broadcast the proceedings.
In a ruling issued Monday, Judge Juan M. Merchan said five pool photographers will be permitted to take still photos before the arraignment for several minutes."
However, other electronic devices, including cell phones and laptops, will not be allowed in the court room, meaning journalists will not be able to report on the arraignment as it unfolds. In his decision, Merchan said the indictment involves a matter of monumental significance ... Never in the history of the United States has a sitting or past President been indicted on criminal charges," he wrote.
Unfortunately, although genuine and undoubtedly important, the interests of the News Organizations must be weighed against competing interests," Merchan said, citing possible interference of the dignity or decorum of the court" among other factors. -Joshua Chong
Who is Alvin Bragg?9:05 a.m. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrived at court Tuesday morning in New York ahead of former President Donald Trump's arraignment.
Bragg became Manhattan's first Black district attorney in 2022, following his election the previous November. He inherited a yearslong grand jury investigation into hush money paid on Trump's behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Meet the district attorney who's set to go to war with Donald Trump
8:42 a.m. New York's mayor, Eric Adams, held a press conference with Keechant Sewell, commissioner of the NYC police department, on Monday, ahead of Donald Trump's arrival in the city.
While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: control yourselves," Adams said at the briefing. New York City is our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger."
Adams also issued a specific warning to Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said she will be in New York to protest Trump's criminal charges
While you are in town, be on your best behaviour," Adams told the Republican representative. Sewell, the city's police commissioner, added that there will be intermittent road closures and an increased police presence this week. -Joshua Chong
8:40 a.m. Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said the former president's appearance in court for Tuesday's arraignment would be brief because the processing does not take long."
It won't be a long day in court," he said on ABC's Good Morning America."
8:35 a.m. Spectators, many of them members of the news media, lined up overnight to get a seat inside the courtroom, or even just a glimpse of Trump, who wasn't expected until Tuesday afternoon.
The building was surrounded by barricades, and people were undergoing layers of security checks.
8:30 a.m. Trump is scheduled to face a judge for his arraignment at 2:15 p.m. EST
Who are Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels?8:10 a.m. Last week, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald Trump on charges related to hush money payments made in 2016, suddenly making him the first former U.S. president to ever face a criminal charge.
The payments were made to two women who said they had sexual encounters with the former president while he was already married. Trump denies the encounters and cast the investigation as a witch hunt" trying to sabotage his 2024 presidential election campaign.
Because the indictment is sealed, there's a lot that still isn't public. For instance, there hasn't been a formal announcement over the time frame into the grand jury's secret work into the case. It's also not clear why the charges - which come six years after the payoff - would be filed now or how prosecutors intend to get around New York's statute of limitations, which are two years for misdemeanour offence or five years for felony offences.
Read the timeline from the Star's Manuela Vega
8 a.m. His caseload has featured charges against former President Donald Trump's company and some of Trump's closest associates in business and politics.
Now Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is poised to take the historic hush-money prosecution of Trump himself.
Merchan, a former prosecutor with 16 years on the bench, is expected to preside Tuesday over the unprecedented arraignment of a former U.S. commander in chief. Trump will appear to answer charges arising from a grand jury investigation into payments made during his 2016 campaign to bury allegations that he had extramarital sexual encounters.
Trump, who is running for the White House again, says he's completely innocent" and has called the case a political persecution." He has also seized on Merchan's involvement.
Who is Juan Merchan, the New York judge handling Donald Trump's case?
Here's what to expect on Tuesday7:52 a.m. Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush-money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime.
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation, has called the indictment political persecution" and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. Trump's lawyers have said the former president did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court."
Read the full story from the Associated Press
7:45 a.m. America's rich history is full of meaningful moments put into words.
One small step for man ..." for the first moon landing.
The first Black president, Barack Obama, who described himself as a skinny kid with a funny name."
Or the pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima and lamented, My God, what have we done?"
Read the full story from Allan Woods
7:30 a.m. An extraordinary moment in U.S. history is set to soon unfold in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday: Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.
The booking and arraignment are likely to be relatively brief - though hardly routine - as Trump is fingerprinted, learns the charges against him and pleads, as expected, not guilty.
Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, will become the first former president to face criminal charges. The nation's 45th commander in chief will be escorted from Trump Tower to the courthouse by the Secret Service and may have his mug shot taken.