Trump indictment Tuesday updates: With MAGA faithful in crowd, Mar-a-Lago speech is replay of gripes

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts Tuesday in New York, a historic moment as the first former president ever to face criminal charges and a dramatic backdrop for the 2024 presidential race as he campaigns again for the White House.

The high-stakes case represents risks for Trump, who faces possible criminal penalties if convicted, and also Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who Republicans including Trump have vilified as politically motivated.

Trump, who stayed at his Trump Tower in Manhattan on Monday night, pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to women who claimed to have had sex with him.

Trump indictment live updates: Arraignment to come after surrender in historic NYC case

Trump's mugshot: Will Trump get a mugshot? Yes. Will it be released to the public? It's complicated

Trump is adamantly defiant in Mar-a-Lago speech, repeats falsehoods, long list of grievances

Former President Donald Trump told the nation the "country is going to hell" Tuesday night, just hours after becoming the first president to be charged with a crime, fingerprinted, booked and then declaring himself innocent in a Manhattan court.

Under the sparkling lights of the chandeliers in the gilded ballroom named after him at the Mar-a-Lago club, Trump recited the litany of investigatory grievances, from the Russia investigation to the search and seizure of government documents from the very property he spoke from. He brought up his usual old enemies (Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden) and new ones (Fulton County [Georgia] DA Fani Willis and Jack Smith, who is investigating Trump's handling of classified documents).

But as for the New York charges, Trump angrily said New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg is "out to get him" and the 34 felony charges should be "dropped immediately" and he would not go along with any settlement talks.

"I never believed this could happen in America," Trump said. "The only crime I've committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it."

Those in the crowd at Mar-a-Lago for Trump's speech

Those seen in the crowd at Mar-a-Lago for Trump's speech included his son U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, political fixer Roger Stone, My-Pillow-Guy Mike Lindell, GOP nominee in 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election Kari Lake, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, sons Don Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and Eric's wife Lara Trump. The former first lady Melania Trump, who did not appear to accompany her husband to New York City, was not seen during his speech Tuesday night.

Crowds around Mar-a-Lago, downtown West Palm started small, grew as Trump returned

Trump supporters near Mar-a-Lago and at the Publix on Southern Boulevard, the route in which Trump's motorcade passes on his way from Palm Beach International Airport to his Mar-a-Lago home, numbered only nine while Trump was in a Manhattan courtroom. But the crowds grew to about 25 by 3 p.m. and well over 130 by 6:15 p.m. as the crowds awaited Trump's return to Florida.

By 6:30 p.m., the crowds grew to just over 150, as people lined the south side of Southern Boulevard between Parker Avenue and Lake Avenue.

Trump-supporting commuters slowed traffic along that stretch of road as they slowed to honk for the former president.

Demonstrators stood behind waist-high metal barricades as two West Palm Beach police officers paced back and forth along the block. There were no signs of violence.

By the time Trump's 757 Trump Force One airplane landed at PBIA and his motorcade made its way toward Mar-a-Lago, the crowds had grown to more than 200.

As Trump waved and gave a thumbs up from the back seat of one of the black SUVs, his supporters chanted “USA! USA!."

During hearing, streets around Mar-a-Lago were quiet

As a grim-faced Donald Trump appeared Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom, a handful of his die-hard supporters were in Palm Beach County's streets where they normally gather to support the ex-president.

Around 3 p.m., as Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts, there were only four supporters seen near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and five were seen at the Publix on Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach.

During Trump's four years as president, people normally showed up in throngs along the route from Palm Beach International Airport to Mar-a-Lago. In fact, a few hundred showed up Monday to support Trump as he made the trip from Palm Beach to PBIA on his way to New York City.

But as Tuesday afternoon progressed, and Trump was on his way back to PBIA on his personal 757 airplane, the crowds grew to about 23.

Trump pleads not guilty to charges

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday in New York to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the unprecedented case of the first criminal charges against a former U.S. president in history, according to multiple news organizations.

His plea came in response to a Manhattan grand jury’s indictment of Trump on Thursday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had been investigating Trump’s role in hush-money payments his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, arranged with two women who claimed to have had sex with him before the 2016 election.

– Bart Jansen, USA Today

Trump enters Manhattan courtroom in New York

Donald Trump and his lawyer Joe Tacopina headed into the Manhattan courtroom about 2:30 p.m. for his arraignment as the first president ever to face criminal charges.

Donald Trump and his lawyer Joe Tacopina headed into the Manhattan courtroom about 2:30 p.m. for his arraignment as the first president ever to face criminal charges.

Trump looked stern as he walked down a hall toward the courtroom. He was set to be arraigned on unspecified charges from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation of hush payments before the 2016 election.

— Bart Jansen, USA Today

As Trump appears in court, few supporters seen in Palm Beach County

A grim-faced Donald Trump appeared in a Manhattan courtroom with his attorneys Tuesday just before his scheduled arraignment.

Trump looked toward still photographers permitted inside the courtroom, as his attorneys Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina flanked him.

As Trump sat in the courtroom, only a handful of supporters were out in the streets where they normally gather to support the ex-president.

Four supporters were seen near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and five were seen at the Publix on Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach.

During Trump's four years as president, people normally showed up in throngs along the route from Palm Beach International Airport to Mar-a-Lago.

A few hundred showed up Monday to support Trump as he made the trip from Palm Beach to the airport on his way to New York City.

Stormy Daniels Donald Trump: How is the former adult film star involved?

Witnesses have said Trump arranged for his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to pay two women, one of them Stormy Daniels, for their silence before the 2016 election. The women claimed to have had sex with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump denied wrongdoing and noted Cohen is a convicted liar.

Legal experts expect a combination of misdemeanor charges alleging falsification of business records about the payments, combined with a felony such as a campaign finance violation.

Stormy Daniels says she's received death threats since Trump indictment

Stormy Daniels says she is “kind of numb” now that the hush-money investigation stemming from her alleged affair with Donald Trump in 2006 has led to his criminal indictment – and that it has prompted death threats against her.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told the Times UK that the charges by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office amount to a vindication of her efforts to hold the former president accountable. But in her first interview since Trump’s indictment last Thursday, she said the as-yet-unspecific charges have put her in more personal danger than ever before.

“The first time it was like gold digger, slut, whore. You know, liar, whatever and this time it's like, ‘I'm gonna murder you,’ “ she said of the threatening messages she has been getting.

– Josh Meyer, USA Today

Donald Trump mugshot: Will the former president have his photo taken? Is he going to jail?

One of the top questions out there is whether Trump will have his photo taken for a mug shot.

Experts say yes, but whether it will be released to the public and media is a different story. Some theorize the potential 2024 presidential candidate will release it himself. And if it's released, will the mug shot be used in newspapers, websites, on social media and on TV? Again, that's a different story.

Trump campaign using fake mugshot to fundraise

Former President Donald Trump is using a fake mugshot to raise money for his presidential campaign and a related fund that has paid for a slew of expenses including lawyers.

The latest fundraising email, sent before his arraignment began, shows a black-and-white picture with Trump’s face in front of a height chart with a fake nameplate in front of him referencing him as the 45th and 47th president. Below the picture is an all caps, “NOT GUILTY.”

Experts said before the arraignment they did not expect Trump to take a mugshot.

– Erin Mansfield, USA Today

What is Trump 757 airplane?

While president, Donald Trump rode in Air Force One, the airplane U.S. presidents use.

Prior to his election in 2016, and now as a private citizen, Trump uses his family's 757 aircraft, known as Trump Force One.

The plane, which was recently refurbished, was a fixture as Trump barnstormed the country in 2016 as, first, the leading Republican candidate, and later as the party's nominee. The 757 often served as a backdrop at his effective, fly-in airport rallies.

Back in 2011, Trump unloaded his 727 private jet and purchased the much larger 757.

"I bought a great airplane," Trump told The Palm Beach Post at the time.

The aircraft upgrade sparked speculation over whether Trump would run against then-President Barack Obama in 2012. Trump didn't run in 2012, but did launch a campaign in June 2015.

Also, as president, Trump wanted Air Force One to have new colors and suggested it be repainted red, white and blue.

Ultimately, officials stuck with the plane's original colors, which include robin egg blue.

Indictment of Donald Trump gives him edge over DeSantis, surveys say

Last week's grand jury indictment has divided the country but it's given him a decided edge over fellow Floridian and looming rival Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to public opinion surveys.

A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Monday showed Trump widening the gap with DeSantis among Republicans, up to 26 percentage points. The poll conducted in the wake of a grand jury indictment against Trump had the former president leading the Sunshine State's governor by 57% to 31%.

What are the charges against Trump?

Witnesses before the Manhattan grand jury have described hush-money payments Trump directed former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to make to silence two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump before the 2016 election.

Legal experts expect a combination of misdemeanor charges alleging falsification of business records about the payments, combined with a felony such as a campaign finance violation.

But Trump has denied wrongdoing and Tacopina said there is no documentation of false business records.

“All of the Tuesday stuff is very much up in the air except that we will very loudly and proudly say not guilty,” Tacopina said. “We’re not doing anything at the arraignment because that would be showmanship and nothing more because we haven’t even seen the indictment.”

– Bart Jansen, USA Today

Mason-Dixon poll: DeSantis has higher approval rating in Florida than Trump

Do Florida Republicans, who know Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis best, know better?

While Trump touts national polls showing him with a gaping lead over DeSantis, a Mason-Dixon poll of Sunshine State GOP voters released Tuesday says the governor is more popular among the party's rank-and-file here than the former president.

The poll was released as both political leaders are facing mounting pressures.

A scorecard to keep track of the Trump investigations

From the so-called Mueller report to a porn star payment, and two impeachments in between, Donald Trump rates as the most investigated U.S. president — ever.

Two of the investigations below are closed cases. But four others are ongoing.

Of that quartet, grand jury probes in New York City and Atlanta appear to be the closest ones to resolution, either to dismiss the allegations or to support indicting Trump. Those two are also notable because they are state cases, and as such adjudication would be immune to a presidential pardon.

The other two investigations are being carried out by a special counsel named by the U.S. Department of Justice. One of those is on Trump's possession of federal documents. Legal scholars and historians note that probe is potentially troublesome for Trump as any crime deemed to have been committed would have happened after he left the White House, and would not fall under a legal doctrine seen to offer U.S. presidents some immunity against prosecution.

For the full story, go here.

Have other former U.S. presidents been indicted? No, but these came close.

Former President Donald Trump's indictment marks the first time a former U.S. president has been charged criminally.

But there have been plenty of presidential scandals, both financial and political: from Warren Harding's Teapot Dome to Ulysses Grant's Whiskey Ring to Harry Truman's "mess in Washington" to Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal. In a number of cases, aides to presidents were sent to serve prison sentences after they either pleaded guilty or were convicted of crimes.

Still, no former U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges. But we have come close.

Want to read about five things to know about allegations of presidential wrongdoings and misdoings?

For the full story, go here.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump indictment live news: Pleads not guilty to charges; speech today