Trump Posts Real-Time Update as He Departs for Court, En Route to His Arraignment: ‘A GREAT HONOR!’
Supporters of Former President Donald Trump gather near the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is due in federal court in Washington today, to answer charges he sought to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Donald Trump wanted the world to know he was heading to D.C. to be arrested “FOR YOU,” his loyal MAGA followers, calling it “A GREAT HONOR.”
The former president, who faced four federal charges of conspiracy and obstruction for his involvement in Jan. 6, posted a real-time update to his Truth Social account on Thursday morning.
“I AM NOW GOING TO WASHINGTON, D.C., TO BE ARRESTED FOR HAVING CHALLENGED A CORRUPT, RIGGED, & STOLEN ELECTION. IT IS A GREAT HONOR, BECAUSE I AM BEING ARRESTED FOR YOU. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote.
Trump was traveling to D.C. from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and was expected to plead not guilty “in a federal courthouse that is just blocks away from where his angry supporters stormed the Capitol building to keep him in power on Jan. 6, 2021,” reported The Washington Post.
Security was tightened outside the courthouse in anticipation of Trump’s arrival for his arraignment Thursday afternoon. CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reported that the scene, “was not as hectic outside the courthouse as before Trump’s other proceedings in Florida and New York.”
About the time he was arriving at the Newark, NJ, airport, Trump posted:
“Biden and his family steal Millions and Millions of Dollars, including BRIBES from foreign countries, and I’m headed to D.C. to be ARRESTED for protesting a CROOKED ELECTION. UNFAIR VENUE, UNFAIR JUDGE. We are a Nation in Decline. MAGA!!!”
This is the second federal indictment against Trump; he pleaded not guilty in June to 37 charges of mishandling government secrets and violating the Espionage Act. Trump also pleaded not guilty to 34 charges in a New York courtroom in April related to the 2016 hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Prosecutor Jack Smith listed six co-conspirators in the Trump case, with five of them believed to be Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, and Keneth Cheesebro. The sixth person remained a mystery.
Eastman’s attorney Harvey Silverglate told Fox News, “If Eastman is charged, he’s going to trial. If he is convicted, he’s going to appeal. We will never, ever make a deal.”
Trump has said the charges against him are part of a “witch hunt” and that he will continue to run for re-election in 2024 no matter the outcome.
