Trump Arrives in Miami Ahead of Court Appearance, Calls for Peaceful Protest

Former President Donald Trump arrives at the Miami International Airport June 12, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump is in Miami, where he will appear in federal court on June 13 to be arraigned on charges related to his handling of classified documents following his time in the White House.

As the Republican 2024 front-runner arrived at Miami International Airport on June 12, his supporters had already gathered near his Doral golf club, where he is due to stay the night.

“I hope the entire country is watching what the radical left are doing to America, and all we stand for,” Trump wrote, in all caps, on his Truth Social account before his namesake plane took off on June 12 from New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport for the three-hour flight.

Trump, who will turn 77 on June 14, is scheduled to show up at 3 p.m. local time at the federal courthouse in the heart of downtown Miami, a 25-minute drive from the golf course.

“We must all be STRONG and DEFEAT the Communists, Marxists, and Radical Left Lunatics that are systematically destroying our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote in an earlier message announcing his departure.

Miami Police Brace for Protests

Supporters of the leading Republican candidate for 2024 have started lining up at the federal courthouse, prompting law enforcement in Miami to ramp up security around the building.

Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said on June 12 that the city is ready for a crowd of “5,000 to 50,000” people. He also encouraged demonstrators to use their First Amendment rights in a peaceful manner.

“Make no mistake about it, we’re taking this event extremely seriously,” Morales said at a press conference. “We know that there is a potential for things taking a turn for the worst, but that’s not the Miami way.”

When asked whether the authorities were going to install barricades and set up a perimeter outside the courthouse where Trump will be arraigned, Morales said, “We’re not ready to discuss that at this time.”

Trump Asks Supporters to Peacefully Protest

This comes after Trump spoke on June 11 on the radio show of his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, urging supporters going to Miami protests against his indictment to remain peaceful.

“We need to strengthen our country now, our country is being taken away from us,” Trump said when asked whether he has a message for those planning to demonstrate their support for him outside the Miami courthouse. “Our country is going communist, it’s going Marxist, it’s going really bad. The people of our country aren’t that way, but the people running it are.”

“We need strength at this point, and everyone’s afraid to do anything,” he continued. “They’re afraid to talk, and they have to go out and they have to protest peacefully. They have to go.”

Trump highlighted a previous protest against his state-level indictment in April in New York City. Police at that time used metal barricades to separate Trump supporters from anti-Trump protesters. The event was overall peaceful, and no arrests were made, despite a few small skirmishes.

“Look, our country has to protest. We have plenty to protest. We’ve lost everything. We’ve lost our borders, we’ve lost our election integrity, we’ve lost respect all over the world, they want to double and triple your taxes. Look at what they want to do to your taxes, these crazy people want to make your taxes so high you won’t be able to live,” Trump said.

Unsealed Court Records

The upcoming arraignment stems from a raid by the FBI last August of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate that uncovered several caches of allegedly classified documents in his possession. Jack Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor, was appointed as special counsel to oversee the case.

The indictment unsealed on June 9 charges Trump with 37 felony counts, including 31 counts of gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information. It also accuses him of participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to federal agents and investigators about the documents.

Specifically, the indictment stated Trump and aide Walt Nauta, who was also indicted, worked together to conceal the documents from investigators. The documents included information about U.S. military plans and the nuclear capabilities of the United States, according to the indictment.

Trump, the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges at the federal level, has denied any wrongdoing.

“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponized Department of Injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” he said at the Georgia Republican convention on June 10 in his first speech since the indictment.

“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump told the audience. “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

“I’ve put everything on the line and I will never yield. I will never be deterred. I will never stop fighting for you.”