Donald Trump Arrested, Pleads Not Guilty To 37 Felony Counts Related To Handling Of Classified Documents
Donald Trump surrendered himself to U.S. marshals at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse in downtown Miami on Tuesday afternoon, where he and valet/alleged co-conspirator Walt Nauta were arrested, arraigned and officially charged with 37 felony counts related to Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office in January 2021.
The historic arraignment marks the first time a former U.S. president has been indicted on federal charges. Trump pleaded not guilty.
Though Trump was printed and processed, no mugshot was taken, as he is easily identifiable (via CNN).
In the federal indictment voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida and unsealed on June 9, the Justice Department alleged that Trump kept classified documents in scores of boxes stored at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach — including in a bathroom. Said documents allegedly contained information about U.S. "defense and weapons capabilities," retaliation scenarios in the event of an attack from Iran, and other highly sensitive topics.
The indictment also alleged that the former president "endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal retention of classified documents," and that he showed classified documents to others who lacked a security clearance.
What follows now will be a months-long process during which the government will reveal its evidence through the discovery process, and pretrial motions will be filed and argued (per the New York Times).
En route to the federal courthouse on Tuesday, Trump posted several messages to his Truth Social account, including one that decried, "ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE!!!"
Just two months ago, of course, Trump surrendered himself to the Manhattan DA's office for an entirely different arraignment, where he was charged with 34 felony counts stemming from hush money payments made to women with whom he allegedly had sexual encounters. There, Trump also pleaded not guilty.
Trump's April 2023 indictment and arrest were historic in their own right, as no other U.S. president, sitting or former, had ever been charged with a crime.
Trump, who served as the country's 45th President from 2017-2021, has been pursuing a second White House bid since November.