06/13/2023 08:35 (act. 06/13/2023 08:35)
Donald Trump is due to appear in court on Tuesday. ©Portal
The former US president is due to appear in court in Miami on Tuesday following the historic indictment against Donald Trump over his handling of classified government documents.
Radical supporters of the Republican presidential candidate were already using martial tones, which raised fears of possible violence. Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said law enforcement is well placed to ensure the situation does not escalate.
It is the first time that a federal indictment has been filed against a former US president. Trump was previously charged at the state level in New York in April in connection with bribe payments to a porn star. Other cases against Trump are also under investigation. Until now, the allegations related to the documents have weighed the most from a legal point of view.
The accusations against Trump
In August, FBI Federal Police searched Trump’s private home, Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and confiscated several confidential documents from his administration, some with the highest level of classification. Mar-a-Lago is a club with paid rooms and public events. By keeping confidential government documents in private rooms after Trump took office, he could make himself liable to prosecution.
He is accused of conspiring to obstruct investigations and illegally storing highly confidential information. According to the indictment, these included details of the nuclear capabilities of the United States and other countries, military weaknesses in the defenses of the United States and its partners, and information about potential military action.
The Explosive Accusation
The indictment charges Trump with seven misdemeanor categories and a total of more than 35 crimes. The details of the 49-page article are explosive. It says, for example, that Trump kept boxes with sensitive information in his bedroom, a bathroom, a shower, a ballroom and a storage room, among other places. Some boxes would have been temporarily located in a room where public events were taking place. A storage room was easily accessible via a public pool area.
In the indictment, investigators detail how Trump talked to others about classified information or showed it to unauthorized third parties, based on audio recordings, among other things.
The procedure on Tuesday
Trump arrived in Miami on Monday and set up camp at his luxury resort, Doral. The trial date, on which the indictment will be read, is set for Tuesday at 3 pm local time (9 pm CET). Trump will be taken into temporary custody. Suspects are usually fingerprinted at these appointments, classic police photos are taken, and handcuffs are often placed. How exactly the process with Trump will go was not clear in advance. In New York, authorities did not give Trump handcuffs and a photo.
It is also considered certain that Trump will leave the court again after the formal procedure. The Republican then wants to fly from Florida to New Jersey, where he announced a speech to fans at his golf club in Bedminster on Tuesday night (8:15 pm local time / 2:15 am CET on Wednesday night).
the safety precautions
Several Trump supporters from the right wing of the Republican Party made martial statements after the indictment, raising fears that violence could erupt. MP Andy Biggs wrote on Twitter: “We have now entered a phase of war. An eye for an eye.” Arizona Republican Kari Lake said anyone trying to get to Trump must first get past her and millions of armed Americans.
In the face of potential protests, Miami deployed a large security presence. Police Chief Morales said there were enough resources for a crowd of up to 50,000 protesters. “We take this event very seriously,” he said on Monday. “We know things could get worse, but that’s not the way in Miami.”
However, the courthouse was not initially closed on Monday. Only yellow barrier tapes fluttered there. In front of the court, however, there has been a great rush of the media for days. And already on Monday there was a long queue of those who wanted to sit in court.
Trump’s Fans
Several Trump supporters gathered on the roadside outside Trump’s Doral resort on Monday. As his black entourage passed by, they waved flags and applauded him. Aileen, a Florida woman in her 50s, said in an angry voice that she was there because the accusations were politically motivated. “It’s a two-tiered justice system, we’re fed up with it.” The Democrats are the party of millionaires, Trump is the president of the working and forgotten population. Such a phrase sounds almost ironic in front of the walls of an estate with several golf courses and swimming pools, whose luxury you can hardly imagine in the stuffy street.
Another woman said she supports Trump because the “deep state” wants to overthrow him. The term is based on the conspiracy theory that secret powers are controlling political decisions. Pete Crotty, a Trump fan who sold Trump merchandise out of the front of his red pickup truck decorated with flags, shares his belief that Trump was only targeted because he was the most likely Republican presidential candidate.
Trump defined that narrative. The 76-year-old president rejects the accusations against himself and sees the accusations as a politically motivated attempt to block him from a second term. He speaks of “political contract murder” and “waging war” with legal means.