Former president Donald Trump arrived in New York City Monday afternoon to face criminal charges in connection to a “hush money” payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Trump, 76, touched down at LaGuardia Airport in a private jet just before 3:30 p.m. after taking off from West Palm Beach, Florida earlier in the afternoon. He’s set to spend the night at his Trump Tower residence ahead of his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The former president is expected to surrender at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office at around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, in order to be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken prior to his first court appearance.
A grand jury convened by DA Alvin Bragg last week voted to indict Trump — marking the first time a former US president has ever faced criminal charges.
Some two to three dozen pro-Trump protesters gathered outside his namesake tower on Fifth Avenue hours ahead of his arrival as NYPD officers manned metal barricades surrounding the skyscraper.
The supporters, corralled in metal barricades between East 56th and 55th Streets on the avenue, held large signs including some reading: “FINISH THE WALL,” “TRUMP ‘24 FOR PRESIDENT” and “CHINESE AMERICANS FIGHT FOR TRUMP.”
Susan Miller, a 35-year New York City resident, said she thinks Trump is innocent and that she has “disdain” for Bragg.
“I’m here to complain about my DA,” the downtown Manhattan dweller said. “They’re letting criminals loose, tons of crime and they’re going after a totally innocent man.”
The exact charges against the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful will remain under seal until the arraignment, but reports suggest he will face 30 counts. Sources tell The Post they include at least one felony charge of falsifying business records — a rap which could land Trump behind bars for up to four years if he were convicted.
The grand jury that handed up the unpreceded indictment had been hearing evidence and witness testimony since January related to the seven-year-old case.
The case is centered on the $130,000 payment made by then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen to Daniels, to buy her silence about a fling she claimed to have with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006 while his wife Melania was home with their newborn child Barron. Trump denies the affair, and any wrongdoing tied to the payment.
Jurors also heard evidence related to a separate $150,000 payment made to Playboy model Karen McDougal by the National Enquirer to obtain exclusive rights to her story about an affair with Trump before the 2016 election, sources said. The outlet never ran the story, a practice known as “catch and kill.”
Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, served a three year sentence — mostly under home confinement — after pleading guilty in 2018 to federal campaign finance charges and lying to Congress — crimes committed during his reign as Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer.
Trump has blasted Bragg over the charges, which his lawyers and allies have called “political persecution.” As he remained under federal investigation for his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, Trump had called on his supporters to protest his impending arrest.
Demonstrators had so far failed to show up en masse to Manhattan, but police were on heightened alert outside Trump Tower and outside the Centre Street courthouse downtown.
In addition to the Jan. 6 probe, the twice-impeached Trump is also under investigation by the feds for hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and in Georgia for election fraud, in addition to several civil cases in New York.
The Constitution does not bar candidates from seeking high office if convicted of a crime. Trump is currently leading other likely contenders for the 2024 GOP nomination by 19 points, according to a average of polls published by RealClearPolitics.
Trump is scheduled to return to Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Fla., resort following his arraignment to address his supporters on Tuesday night — in what will be his first speech since the indictment.
Fans lined the approach to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida early Monday afternoon to greet Trump as he arrived for his flight to New York.
Several dozen fans of the embattled ex-president waved giant “Trump 2024” flags and brandished homemade signs that displayed messages like “God Bless Donald Trump.”
Former first son Eric Trump joined his dad aboard the jet for the trip. The 39-year-old was photographed looking out the window while taking pictures with his phone and flashing a thumbs up ahead of takeoff.
“Watching the plane… from the plane,” he tweeted from aboard Trump Force One, along with a photo of news coverage of the trip.