Trump arraignment – latest: Miami police brace for protests as Trump to appear in court on 37 federal charges

Donald Trump will be arraigned today on 37 charges over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, as he becomes the first current or former US president to ever face federal criminal charges. The former president will appear for his arraignment at a federal court in the Southern District of Florida at 3pm ET, where he has vowed to plead not guilty to all charges. “I’ll just say ‘not guilty.’ I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Boston radio show WRKO on Monday. Despite his confidence, The Independent exclusively revealed that Mr Trump was struggling to find attorneys willing to defend him in Florida. Miami officials meanwhile are bracing for protests outside the courthouse with Mayor Francis Suarez saying at a press conference that the city is enacting plans to “make sure that everyone has a right to peacefully express themselves and exercise their constitutional rights” in “an obviously peaceful manner”. Several supporters have voiced violent rhetoric online and MAGA loyalists Kari Lake and Laura Loomer, the Proud Boys and at least one Capitol rioter (named Baked Alaska) are expected to descend on Miami in support of the former president. Read More Trump vows to ‘go after’ Biden’s family in bitter Truth Social rant before boarding Miami arraignment jet Trump will face judge in historic court appearance over charges he mishandled secret documents Police monitoring online far-right threats and pro-Trump protests with federal indictment: ‘This is war’