Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been arrested after he surrendered to authorities in a Manhattan courthouse, making him the first-ever former commander-in-chief to face criminal charges.
Trump, who is running as a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last Thursday over hush money payments he allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
According to the Associated Press, the former president, who was arraigned before Judge Juan Merchan, is also facing 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump, joined by his legal team, has entered a not-guilty plea to the charges.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch accused prosecutors involved in this case, most notoriously Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, of being politically motivated rather than rooted in good legal precedent.
“It’s a very sad day today to see the rule of law being disintegrated,” Fitch said. “It’s not only inappropriate, but it is absolutely unethical to see this prosecutorial authority being used to play politics. This is going to the extremity.”
The indictment against Trump is expected to be unsealed later today.
