As Trump’s court date arrives, classified documents indictment divides Miami

Former President Donald Trump has called the classified documents probe a “witch hunt.” Opinion in Miami where Trump has shown some considerable political strength, however, is much more divided.

Trump was indicted last week on charges of illegally storing hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. The former president, who is seeking to reclaim his former title, will appear in a Miami federal courtroom Tuesday.

READ MORE: Special counsel says Trump ‘put our country at risk.’ Read the unsealed indictment

Some hate Trump. Others love him. But many of the former president’s supporters refused to be quoted about the indictment, though a man passing by called him “a hero” and a woman said “pobrecito” or “poor thing” in Spanish.

Miami-Dade has historically been a Democratic stronghold, but the county has been trending in a Republican direction. Hispanic voters, particularly Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, were at the center of the shift.

From the 2016 to 2020 presidential elections, support for Trump increased in Miami-Dade by 22%. In the 2022 election, DeSantis won about 65% of the vote in majority Hispanic precincts.

Here’s what folks around town have to say about the indictment.

For Richard Gutierrez, prosecutors are throwing the book at Trump, who he says is the focus of constant media scrutiny to rile people up.

Gutierrez, 55, pointed to how Biden is facing a classified documents probe of his own after about 10 documents dating back to the Obama administration were found at a University of Pennsylvania office.

“It was unfair because the law is not applied equally to both parties,” said Gutierrez, who lives in Coral Gables and identified himself as an independent. “The law is the law…. If you did that or I did that, I would expect to be treated the same way as someone else.”

Joseph Mogul, 22, wasn’t surprised to hear that Trump was indicted — though he wasn’t completely convinced that the former president would face charges in the first place.

Mogul, who lives in Coconut Grove, was mostly shocked that it happened nearby. He expects that the charges will bode poorly for Trump, who is the Republican front runner for the presidential nomination.

“To me, it’s like somewhat symbolic,” said Mogul, who is registered as a Democrat. “It doesn’t change anything about politics in America. It’s good that he’s being held accountable, but…there’s like a million other politicians doing criminal things every day.”

Lissette Elguezabal, 57, finds it unfair that Trump is being prosecuted while other politicians — namely President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — haven’t been indicted for their respective breaches of security.

Elguezabal, a Cuban American who lives in Little Havana and formerly worked as a photography assignment editor at the Miami Herald, views the investigation as a reason to “cast another black cloud” on Trump.

“Whether it’s files, whether it’s somebody he knew from 20 years ago, whatever it is — it’s just constant looking into finding that needle in a haystack…” said Elguezabal, who is registered as a Republican. “Why don’t we do the same for the others?”

Kevin Courtney, 67, believes it’s a “real shame” for the U.S. to have a former leader indicted. Courtney, who recently moved to Coral Gables from New Jersey and identified himself as an independent, is worried about demonstrations in South Florida by far-right groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

Trump’s latest indictment, Courtney said, is a lot more serious than the one in New York, where he was charged with fraud-related offenses stemming from paying $130,000 of hush money to a porn actress during the 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public about their alleged sexual encounter.

“I think he’s playing the game of being a real estate developer, not a good American president or ex-president.”

For Kyle Pelling, Courtney’s 28-year-old nephew, the indictment is long overdue.

“I’ve been waiting for years and years to see him held accountable for anything that he’s done, and I hope that justice is served, but I don’t really have my hopes up for anything.”