Live updates: Tight security, road closure in advance of Trump court appearance in downtown Miami
Full coverage of the scene in and around the federal courthouse in Miami where former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear to face felony charges related to classified documents he kept after leaving the White House.
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon for his first appearance in a historic criminal case against him.
Trump has been charged with 37 felony counts. The Justice Department said he hoarded top secret government documents, boastfully displayed them to visitors and tried to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.
Please check back for updates throughout the day.
11:16 a.m. | Homeless woman for Trump
Luimar Zibetti Garza, 60, a longtime Floridian who says she’s homeless, set up on a sidewalk outside the federal courthouse. She had an umbrella with a sign that said, “Homeless 4 Trump.” “I came out to support Trump because I know he’s being railroaded,” Garza said.
11:06 a.m. | Unattended package
Police moved people away from an area near the courthouse after an unattended package was spotted.
10:53 a.m. | Back and forth
Trump opponents were shouting “Trump is (a) dick,” which prompted Trump supporters to shout over them, “We Love Trump.”
Supporters of the former president gathered and sang “God Bless America.”
10:30 a.m. | Where will trial take place
Trump’s arraignment is in federal court in Miami, but that doesn’t mean his trial will take place there.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, serving Tuesday as an unpaid legal analyst for MSNBC live coverage of Trump’s first court appearance, told viewers that West Palm Beach is a more logical location.
“There’s no connection between Miami and the Mar-a-Lago documents. It’s just they’re both in the Southern District of Florida,” he said, adding that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is slated to preside over the case, sits in Fort Pierce and the closest courthouse to the site of the alleged wrongdoing is in West Palm Beach.
Aronberg also said the federal government might have a better time persuading a jury drawn from Palm Beach County than one drawn from Miami-Dade County. (Aronberg, who is a former assistant state attorney general, handles state level prosecutions, not federal.)
That’s not just because Palm Beach County “is a bluer place,” he said. “Even though it’s in his (Trump’s) back yard, I think Palm Beach County has a better track record of convicting public officials for corruption. Miami-Dade County not so much.”
10:11 a.m. | Road closures
Miami Police said Northwest First Avenue between Third Street and Fifth Street is closed until further notice.
“We strongly encourage commuters to avoid the area and seek alternate routes, if possible,” police said in a news release Tuesday morning.
Television video showed Miami police cars blocking the street.
On Monday, Mayor Francis Suarez had warned commuters to expect some disruptions.
Additional temporary closures are certain when Trump travels from his Doral golf resort to Miami early in the afternoon.
.@aronberg providing legal analysis for @MSNBC live coverage of Trump federal court day. https://t.co/rIX3qtQvsA pic.twitter.com/pT42cHTvH7
— Anthony Man (@browardpolitics) June 13, 2023
9:54 a.m. | Republican chair urges peaceful protests
Christian Ziegler, chair of the Republican Party of Florida endorsed protesting in Miami, but he urged his followers on social media to avoid violence.
He asserted that anything violent would play into the hands of the political left by making demonstrators look bad.
“Yes – Peacefully protesting to ensure that your voice & support is heard,” Ziegler wrote on Twitter.
“NO – Taking The Left’s bait by acting like an asshole & breaking laws. Be smart. Don’t give The Left what they want.”
9:45 a.m. | People start to gather
A small group of demonstrators began showing up around the Federal Courthouse in Miami by 7 a.m., according to television reports. Some included protest veterans who show up for events all over South Florida where they’re likely to encounter protestors.
Others were dressed to garner the maximum media attention, including a man wearing prison stripes and holding a “lock him up” sign. He was also present with the same outfit and sign on Monday. Trump supporters included a person wearing an “I love Trump!” hat.
Television news helicopter video after 9 a.m. showed a large continent of media representatives and a line of people waiting to get in the courthouse.
Law enforcement agencies, and police dogs, already were keeping watch.
9 a.m. | Trump in DoralTrump spent Monday night at the golf club he owns in Doral, where news accounts said he was interviewing additional lawyers to join his legal team.He describes his Mar-a-Lago resort and club in Palm Beach — where the indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House — as his home.But Trump doesn’t typically spend the hot summer season there, staying instead at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. After the court proceedings Tuesday, he’s planning to return to Bedminster for an evening speech and fundraiser.
This report contains information from the Associated Press.
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