Trump arrives in Florida to stepped up security ahead of historic indictment

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Miami, Florida: Security is being ramped up in Miami amid fears of civil unrest and potential violence surrounding Donald Trump’s historic court appearance on federal criminal charges this week.

As the former US president prepares to be indicted over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, authorities were bracing themselves for pro and anti-Trump rallies, including one promoted on Twitter by extremist group the Proud Boys, whose members have been convicted for their roles in the US Capitol attack.

Donald Trump arrives at his Doral resort in Miami on Monday (Tuesday AEST).Credit: AP

“We’re bringing enough resources to handle a crowd anywhere from 5000 to 50,000,” said Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales.

In downtown Miami, police tape was set up around the federal courthouse where Trump will appear at 3pm on Tuesday. There he will once again make history by becoming the first former US president to be federally indicted.

Federal and local agencies were also monitoring online chatter for signs of potentially violent plans, authorities were considering closing multiple streets and additional police and emergency service officers were ready for deployment.

The preparations come after Trump called on his supporters to take to the streets to protest against what he describes as yet another political “witch hunt” designed to thwart his campaign to return to the White House.

“See you in Miami on Tuesday!” he posted over the weekend.

But while Trump has not called for violence, some of his allies have portrayed the Department of Justice’s latest case as an act of war, and some of his most extreme supporters have taken to online forums to call for retribution, and in some cases, violence.

In a video posted on social media on Monday, one fan who had gathered outside his Doral Resort warned that “there are a lot of boys like me that are ready. We are ready. All we need is an order.”

Earlier, Trump’s son’s fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle posted a photo of the former president with the words, “Retribution Is Coming,” in all capital letters, while Arizona Republican Andy Biggs warned: “Eye for an Eye.”

This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.Credit: AP

Trump has been criminally charged with 37 counts alleging that he “willfully” kept classified documents he wasn’t authorised to have after leaving the White House, and then schemed to thwart the federal government’s efforts to retrieve them.

The documents included some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, from information relating to nuclear programs and military vulnerabilities, to intelligence that should have only been shared with the “Five Eyes” countries, including Australia.

Many of the documents were also carelessly stored in boxes all over his Mar-a-Lago resort, the 49-page indictment alleges, including “in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room”.

The latest indictment marks Trump’s second appearance as a criminal defendant and comes only two months after he was arraigned in New York for falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

However, unlike the state-based New York indictment, which some legal experts derided as a weak case and relatively trivial, prosecutors say the federal indictment goes to the heart of national security, which could have been placed at risk had any of the material fallen into the wrong hands.

Trump is expected to plead not guilty to the charges and has vowed to continue campaigning for the nomination to run as the Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election. On Monday, he left his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey and returned to Florida, arriving at his Trump National Doral Resort shortly before 4pm.

He was accompanied by a large entourage that included his personal aid Walt Nauta, who was also charged for his role as a co-conspirator for helping to move boxes in a bid to hide them from investigators.

Demonstrators rally outside the Trump National Doral resort.Credit: AP

After his court appearance, he will return to New Jersey, where he will publicly respond to the charges in a speech and also hold a private fundraiser.

With 17 months until the next election, Trump is currently the frontrunner to win his party’s nomination and so far, most Republicans have stood by him, furious by what they see as the “weaponisation” of the Justice Department and FBI under Joe Biden.

Biden is also under investigation by a Special Counsel over his own handling of classified documents, some of which were found in the garage of the president’s Delaware home – something that Speaker Kevin McCarthy cited to justify Trump’s actions on Monday.

Asked by reporters if it was “a good look” for Trump to be caught storing classified documents in the bathroom of Mar-a-Lago’s Lake Room, McCarthy responded: “I don’t know — is it a good picture to have boxes in a garage that opens up all the time? A bathroom door locks.”

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.

Most Viewed in World

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article