PALM BEACH, Fla. – Former President Donald Trump returned home to Mar-A-Lago Tuesday evening. A short time later, Trump addressed his supporters, speaking for the first time since he was taken into custody and appeared in a Manhattan criminal court.
“Virtually everyone who’s looked at this case, even RINOs and hardcore Democrats, say there is no crime,” Trump told the crowd. “They can’t beat us at the ballot box, so they try to beat us through the law.”
Tuesday morning, Trump boarded his private plan in Palm Beach County and then traveled to New York.
Crowds gathered outside of Trump Tower as the 45th President of the United States walked out of the building and into a motorcade headed to the courthouse.
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A picture from inside the courtroom showed the first former US president appearing as a defendant inside a courtroom.
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the 34-count indictment is tied to hush-money payments made to several people ahead of the 2016 election. Trump has since pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following the arraignment, Trump posted on social media that he was already back in the air, traveling home to Florida. Palm Beach County deputies closed off roadways into Palm Beach as hundreds of Trump’s supporters lined the roads.
“We heard about the welcome home rally, so we figured we’d show the president our support and just let him know a lot of New Yorkers don’t think he should have been indicted,” supporter Eric Johnson said.
Trump isn’t due back in court until December. His lawyers have requested the judge excuse Trump from showing up in person, citing extradition and security concerns.
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