Donald Trump facing criminal charges at Washington DC court
- By Bernd Debusmann Jr at the courthouse & George Bowden
- BBC News, Washington DC
Watch: ‘This indictment is staggering’ – a 90-second explainer
Former US President Donald Trump is in a Washington DC court making his third appearance as a criminal defendant in four months.
Mr Trump is facing charges of conspiring to obstruct and overturn the 2020 election result.
The former president, 77, is expected to indicate a non-guilty plea.
Mr Trump was seen in the courtroom speaking with his lawyers and twiddling his thumbs before Thursday’s hearing began.
It appeared that Mr Trump and Jack Smith, the special prosecutor leading the investigation, exchanged glances.
Mr Trump travelled to court in a large motorcade alongside Secret Service agents and media after arriving in Washington on his private plane, known as Trump Force One.
The new allegations laid out early this week in an indictment, or charge sheet, included a count of “conspiracy to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function through dishonesty, fraud and deceit”.
Mr Trump is appearing on Thursday before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya. Another judge, Tanya Chutkan, will handle the criminal trial at a later date.
The court, Elijah Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse, is just yards from the US Capitol, the scene of the riot on January 6 2021 that heavily features in the latest indictment.
The Republican politician has already been charged in two other cases: with mishandling classified files and falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star.
Mr Trump did not answer questions as he arrived in Washington
Trump lawyer John Lauro has called the latest indictment an attack on free speech, saying: “There’s nothing more protected under the First Amendment [the right to free speech] than political speech.”
On Wednesday, Mr Trump, who is running for re-election, criticised the charges as stemming from the “corruption, scandal, and failure” of the US under the Biden presidency.
A group of supporters waving Trump campaign flags assembled outside court. Anti-Trump demonstrators were also present.
After his arraignment, Mr Trump is expected to immediately return to Washington Reagan National airport and head home to New Jersey.