Tension ahead of Trump’s court date
It's still quiet in Miami, but the police are expecting massive protests around Trump's court date. The ex-US President accused of possessing secret documents had called for this himself.
So far, traffic is still flowing right past the courthouse in downtown Miami. Until the evening before there were hardly any barriers – and no demonstrations.
But that could change today, the closer the court date of former US President Donald Trump gets, says Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales: “We take this event extremely seriously. We know that there is a possibility that things will change turn for the worst.” The forces are prepared for “5,000 to 50,000 demonstrators”.
Reports are circulating on social media that radical Trump supporters such as the far-right Proud Boys, who also led the storming of the Capitol in Washington in January 2021, want to take to the streets in Miami.
Trump himself calls for protests
Trump himself had called for protests on his social network “Truth Social” with sentences like “See you in Miami”. At two regional Republican conventions over the weekend, he intensified his abuse of incumbent President Joe Biden and his attacks on independent special counsel Jack Smith: “Now these radical left-wing crazies want to influence elections by instrumentalizing law enforcement.” Trump spoke of a “final fight”.
While most leading Republicans continue to defend Trump rather than criticize it, his former Attorney General William Barr caused a stir when he said – on Trump’s former home broadcaster Fox News of all places – about the charges in the secret documents case:
“If even half of it is true, he’s done for.”
To present oneself as a victim of a “witch hunt” in the case of the secret documents is “ridiculous,” said Barr, who fell out with Trump at the end of his term as Minister.
The process will probably start in a few months
Trump is expected to be accompanied by lawyers and security guards to the first court date and will enter the building via an underground car park. He then has to endure the usual procedures, such as having his fingerprints taken, before the actual hearing begins at 3 p.m. local time on the 13th floor of the courthouse. Without TV cameras, they’re not allowed in federal court.
It is unclear whether the initially responsible judge Aileen Cannon, who was once appointed by Trump himself and attracted attention with Trump-friendly decisions, will actually lead the main proceedings in this case, which is unique in US history.
According to experts, it will probably take several months before the actual start of the process.
