Trump, facing 37 federal criminal charges, enters not guilty plea at arraignment

After the court appearance, the former U.S. President flew to New Jersey and told supporters that he is facing “a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.”

Former President Donald Trump was arraigned on Tuesday in a Miami, Florida federal court. It was the first time in U.S. history that a President – former or sitting – has faced federal charges.

Trump was booked alongside his aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, who was also named in the indictment.

READ MORE: Trump faces federal indictment over handling of classified documents

Trump pleaded not guilty to the 37 criminal charges brought against him related to the willful retention of classified documents.

The charges come after the FBI raided Trump’s Florida home in August 2022 on behalf of the National Archives investigating whether he took classified records from the White House when he left office in January 2021. Boxes were found to be on the premises of his Mar-A-Lago home, which have now been taken into federal custody. Federal prosecutors allege that Trump concealed the fact that he had classified documents. It is also alleged that Trump showed the documents to unauthorized persons.

Following the brief court appearance in Miami, the former President made a stop at a local restaurant and then traveled to Bedminster, New Jersey where he delivered a speech to supporters. 

“Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” Trump told the crowd. “Very sad thing to watch, a corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty, right in the middle of a presidential election in which he’s losing very badly.”

Trump said the charges were “election interference in yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election,” a reference to his continued claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“It’s a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation,” Trump said. “This day will go down in infamy and Joe Biden will forever be remembered as the most corrupt president in the history of our country.”

The one-term 45th President is running for the White House again, seeking to be the Republican nominee in the 2024 race. Polling has continued to show Trump ahead of a growing list of GOP candidates by double digits. 

This is the second set of criminal charges Trump is currently facing. The first came in April in New York where he pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records over an alleged hush money scheme paid to a porn actress. 

Trump could also soon face more legal troubles as a Georgia District Attorney is investigating the former President’s role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state.