4:10 p.m. Thursday
Former President Donald Trump made a statement at the airport on his way back to New Jersey.
“This is a very sad day for America,” Trump said, “This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) responded to the proceeding on Twitter: “The DOJ: the DNC’s legal arm? Indictments as political tools? This isn’t impartiality; it’s partisanship.”
3:39 p.m.
Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya advised former president Donald Trump that he must comply with the conditions of his release after he pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
“Mr. Trump, I ask you to listen carefully to the conditions,” she said.
Trump looked right at her, The Washington Post reported.
“Your most important condition of release is that you not commit a state, federal or local offense. If so, your release may be revoked,” Upadhyaya said. “You may also face a longer sentence for having committed a crime while on release. I will next set a court date.”
Upadhyaya added: “You may also face an additional criminal charge for failure to appear in court. I want to remind you it is a crime to intimidate a witness or retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution, or otherwise obstruct justice. Do you understand these warnings, sir?”
Trump nodded yes.
3:27 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Trump was asked to stand and enter his plea on all four counts.
The judge told Trump that he will be released without bond and reminded him not to have contact with witnesses in the case unless through an attorney.
The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, 77, has been indicted and arraigned in three criminal cases. He also faces indictment from a Georgia grand jury.
The hearing began at 3:17 p.m. CT.
3:13 p.m.
Media reports said that special counsel Jack Smith and Trump were about 20 feet from each other on Thursday in the courtroom.
Trump stared at him several times, The New York Times reported.
Trump entered the court at 2:51 p.m. CT. He has been waiting for more than 20 minutes for the proceedings to begin.
2:51 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump entered the courtroom for his arraignment, scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
Special counsel Jack Smith also was present.
Smith attended Trump’s first appearance in Miami, when the former president was arraigned on charges of mishandling classified documents in June.
Media reports say Trump did not have a mug shot taken. He only had to provide identifying characteristics, such as his height and weight.
2:40 p.m.
During the Trump motorcade, the former president’s team members handed reading material to the media traveling with them.
It broke down some of Trump’s theories about the indictment, saying Democrats were trying to cover up for President Biden and his son, Hunter.
2:35 p.m.
Fox News anchors were unimpressed as the countdown continued toward former President Donald Trump’s third arraignment.
“It is pretty striking that, I think, Americans have become sort of inured to watching the former president go through this process,” anchor Martha MacCallum said. “I didn’t think I would ever see that.”
Anchor Gillian Turner added: “We can’t any longer say that this is a historic event, because we’ve seen the spectacle before of the former president flying across the country to face arraignment in various courthouses.”
2:27 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump will have at least one new attorney with him inside the court.
John F. Lauro will be with Trump and attorney Todd Blanche at the defendant’s table.
Lauro has not represented Trump at his two previous arraignments.
2:20 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.
He was taken into custody before appearing in Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya’s court.
2:15 p.m.
Former Vice President Mike Pence was fundraising off his former boss’ arraignment.
Fox News reported that Pence was selling a T-shirt and baseball cap with the words “Too Honest” on them for $30 each.
Part of former President Donald Trump’s indictment describes a call between Trump and Pence on New Year’s Day in 2021.
“You’re too honest,” Trump told Pence, according to the indictment.
Pence criticized Trump after the indictment was released on Tuesday.
“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States,” Pence said in a statement posted online.
2:05 p.m.
CNN reported that the Secret Service made several security sweeps inside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.
The checks included the second floor, where former President Trump is expected to appear before a magistrate judge within the hour.
1:57 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump’s airplane arrived at Reagan National Airport.
A motorcade was waiting to take him to the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.
Trump was expected to be processed before 3 p.m. CT, when he is expected in court.
The former commander-in-chief wrote the venue and judge in the case were unfair.
“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,” Trump wrote. “UNFAIR VENUE, UNFAIR JUDGE. We are a Nation in Decline. MAGA!!!”
1 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump departed his residence in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon for a flight to Washington, D.C., where he will appear in federal court at 3 p.m. CT.
Images on broadcast networks show the 2024 presidential frontrunner’s motorcade driving to the airport around 12:45 p.m. CT.
Trump announced his departure on Truth Social shortly before he left.
“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 on his Truth Social platform.
Trump faces four charges from special counsel Jack Smith on his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
The charges, released in an indictment Tuesday, were conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan was assigned to oversee the case.
Trump is expected to plead not guilty as he did in a June federal case brought by Smith in a Miami courtroom.
Meanwhile, many politicians were weighing in about the Trump case before his appearance.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said other GOP presidential candidates have been hesitant to criticize Trump because they’re auditioning for a role in the next Trump administration.
“In the end, I think that some of them are unwilling to do it because they don’t think it’s politically smart, some of them are auditioning for a potential Trump administration, and I think some of them just aren’t able to do it,” Christie told podcast host Kara Swisher. “They just physically aren’t equipped to be able to be in that combat.”
Christie said Trump is “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 march to the U.S. Capitol after President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Another Trump rival, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, was at the Washington courthouse earlier Thursday, Fox News reported. He filed a request with the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland for documents to “tell us the truth about what’s really driving this flurry of prosecutions, with trial dates set during the height of the upcoming election.”
“That’s why I sued the DOJ this week to tell us exactly what Biden told Garland & what Garland told Jack Smith about the Trump indictments. That’s why I’ve pledged to release the state action files about what the government tells tech companies to suppress. We can handle the TRUTH,” Ramaswamy said.
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said the charges against Trump were “actual real Communism.”
“And those who are holding the power and controlling, basically holding the power of the Constitution right now, are putting the Constitution through a paper shredder by what they are doing with the Department of Justice,” Greene said in a video posted to social media. “This is not justice. This is the greatest injustice.”
