Donald Trump became the first sitting or ex-president of the United States to be arrested in its 247-year history. Trump’s arrest took place after he surrendered himself in a New York court on the morning (local time) of Tuesday, April 4th. He has been indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The legal document pertaining to Trump’s arrest claims that the former president has been charged with “falsifying business records in the first degree” with the purpose of committing another crime whose details have not been revealed. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office accused Trump of “falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election”. Bragg became the first Black district attorney of Manhattan in 2022.
Trump (76) pleaded ‘not guilty’ during the arraignment before Justice Juan Merchan whom he accused of being a “Trump hater” on his right-wing social media platform Truth Social. Justice Merchan didn’t respond to the allegations but reportedly asked Trump to avoid inflammatory rhetoric.
The former president was allowed to leave after providing his details, including his fingerprints, but his mugshot was not taken as per the procedure. Trump will have to appear again in person in December for further hearings.
Trump’s arrest stirred the US political scenario, as the crisis-ridden country gears up for the crucial 2024 presidential polls. Trump’s supporters, who want him to take on the Democrats in the 2024 polls, alleged witch-hunting by US President Joe Biden’s administration.
After his release, Trump lashed out at the Biden regime and asserted his innocence. Trump wrote “WITCH HUNT, as our once great Country is going to HELL!” before leaving New York for his sea-facing mansion in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
In Florida, Trump addressed his supporters and donors on Tuesday night saying, “I never thought anything like this could happen in America – never thought it could happen”, referring to his indictment and arrest.
“The only crime that I’ve committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it… it’s (his arrest) an insult to our country”, Trump told his pugnacious supporters who gathered to hear him and cheered for him.
“This case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately”, Trump added. The district attorney’s office in Manhattan has accused “Trump and others” of employing a nefarious scheme “to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects.” Trump denied the charges.
Although the US media has gone ga-ga over Trump’s arrest on 34 counts of felony charges, not much has been said on why he and other former presidents like George W Bush and Barak Obama have not been charged with war crimes due to their criminal aggression on sovereign territories around the world.
As Trump’s arrest in New York provided humiliating optics to the world, the former president’s supporters are trying to efface the allegations, including that of paying money to a former porn star and a Playboy magazine model to conceal their past relationships with the former president.
