Miami: Former US President Donald Trump was in custody at Miami courthouse to face criminal charges that he unlawfully kept national security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them.

Trump and former aide Walt Nauta were booked, court official said, ahead of an arraignment scheduled when they were due to submit plea. Hearing was to be closed to cameras and live broadcasts. It was be second courtroom visit for Trump in recent months. In April, he pleaded not guilty to state charges in New York stemming from hush-money payment to porn star. Tuesday’s appearance in Miami was on federal charges. Supporters wearing Make America Great Again hats and carrying American flags chanted “Miami for Trump” and “Latinos for Trump” as motorcade paused outside courthouse.

A man could be heard chanting, “USA! USA!” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told reporters outside courthouse that there had not been any security problems. Authorities had braced for crowds of up to 50,000 people and prepared for possible violence, recalling January 6, 2021, attack on US Capitol. Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and accuses Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration of targeting him. He called Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading prosecution, “Trump hater” on social media.

Smith accuses Trump of risking national secrets by taking thousands of sensitive papers with him when he left White House in January 2021 and storing them in haphazard manner at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate and his New Jersey golf club, according to grand jury indictment released last week. 

Published in The Daily National Courier, June, 14 2023

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