As Donald Trump prepares to be arraigned for federal charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election on Thursday afternoon, only a sliver of supporters showed up early to greet him outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C.
As of noon Thursday, roughly a dozen supporters of the former president were outside the courthouse, brandishing Trump 2024 flags and wearing red hats. On the street, cars passed by carrying the same banners of support. About the same number of counterprotesters appeared as well, some holding signs that read “Lock Him Up.”
But the largest presence by far was the group that Trump has continued to attack as one of his biggest enemies: the press, whose crews and cameras from all different outlets and languages lined by the hundreds around the building.
The former president is expected to be formally charged at 4 p.m. He will be taken into custody, but plans to plead not guilty.
Around the Washington courthouse, the loudest sounds came from cars passing in traffic along Pennsylvania Avenue and chatter among members of the press. Journalists had begun lining up on Wednesday night to cover the historic moment. Outside one corner of the courthouse, a man showed up with two bullhorns to preach about Jesus.
A couple dozen police officers were stationed around the building, having set off a street perimeter on surrounding blocks. Some tourists walking past took photos of the courthouse scene, but the bigger attraction seemed to be across the street, where people were steadily flowing into one of the city’s trademark art museums.
One of Trump’s supporters told POLITICO he was not surprised about the low turnout, citing what he perceived as persecution of Trump’s base.
“They have scared Americans — namely Trump supporters — shitless,” said Dion Cini, 54, of New York City, who held a Trump 2024 flag in his hands and said he has traveled the country to support the former president for years. “All the Republicans are just scared right now, and rightly so.”
There’s a chance that Trump may not even appear outside in public on Thursday, as he may opt to enter and leave the courthouse through an underground parking garage.
The relative quiet contrasted from 939 days ago, when thousands of the former president’s supporters had stormed the U.S. Capitol — visible from the front door of the courthouse. Thursday morning was also so far a divergence from the circuslike atmospheres outside of his earlier two arraignments in New York in April and Miami in June, when hundreds from Trump’s base flooded the cities.
Special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday charged Trump with with four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, spurring from his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to exploit the violent mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The charges present the greatest legal challenge yet to the former president, who already faces 34 New York state felony charges in connection to alleged hush money payments to a porn star and 40 potential federal felonies from the alleged mishandling of classified documents. He is also under investigation for alleged interference in Georgia during the 2020 election.
But despite his base’s continued support, often premised on the unfounded accusation that his legal challenges were politically motivated, few were present to show up for it on Thursday morning. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was briefly at the courthouse, recording a message of support for Trump, but appeared to have left the court grounds by lunchtime.
The morning was fitting for a quiet August day in the capital, a time when Congress — and along with it, some of Trump’s biggest banner carriers — is out on recess.
President Joe Biden was also out of town, taking a vacation back home in Delaware. While on a bike ride this morning, Biden smiled but did not respond to a reporter who asked about the impending court proceedings in Washington, according to a pool report.
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By: Andrew Zhang
Title: All quiet outside Washington courthouse where Trump is set to face arraignment
Sourced From: www.politico.com/news/2023/08/03/trump-indictment-courthouse-arraignment-00109643
Published Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2023 11:51:08 EST
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