Former President Donald Trump was arraigned in Washington, D.C. today after being indicted by a federal grand jury over accusations regarding the role he played in the protests at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. In response to the charges Trump pled ‘not guilty’. A trial date will be set at the next hearing scheduled for August 28th.
Addressing the press after his arraignment, former President Trump called it, “…a very sad day for America.” He lamented the state of decay he saw while driving through Washington, D.C. on his way to the Federal Courthouse, saying it was not the place that he had left. Before boarding his plane, Trump added:
This is the political persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America. This is a persecution of the person that’s leading by very very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot. So if you can’t beat them you persecute them or you prosecute them. We can’t let this happen in America.
Shortly before departing the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump posted on Truth Social:
Outside the Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C.Trump attorney Alina Habba briefed members of the press, noting that after every new break in the Hunter and Joe Biden scandal, former President Trump has faced an indictment or legal proceeding brought forward by either the DOJ or a Biden political ally. Habba concluded: “This is election interference at its finest against the leading candidate right now for president.”
Mike Davis, a conservative attorney and founder of the Article 3 Project, blasted the arraignment and DOJ indictment of former President Donald Trump: “It is not illegal to challenge elections in the United States of America. It’s only illegal to challenge elections in third-world Marxist hellholes. That’s why Democrats were not charged for challenging Republican presidential wins in 1968, 2000, 2004, and 2016.”
Will Scharf, a former U.S. attorney and candidate for Missouri Attorney General, called the Jack Smith DOJ indictment of Trump, “…a highly political document, riddled with legal and factual infirmities. This indictment should have never been brought to a grand jury in the first place.”
Despite the arraignment, the former President appeared to be in good spirits earlier this afternoon. In another post on Truth Social, Trump quipped: