Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon to all charges related to his role in protesting the 2020 election results.
Trump was indicted for the third time this week. According to the latest indictment, Trump faces four federal charges related to his contesting the 2020 election and connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol building. The indictment charges include conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction, and conspiracy against rights.
The former president is the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024 by a wide margin.
Trump appeared before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. about 4 p.m. eastern Thursday.
“This is election interference at its finest against the leading candidate right now for president for either party,” Trump’s legal spokesperson Alina Habba told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday. “President Trump is under siege in a way that we have never seen before.”
Outside the courthouse, Trump’s supporters and detractors gathered with signs while authorities stood guard.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released a 45-page indictment of the former president earlier this week.
“Look, it’s not my fault that my political opponent in the Democrat Party, Crooked Joe Biden, has told his Attorney General to charge the leading (by far!) Republican Nominee & former President of the United States, me, with as many crimes as can be concocted so that he is forced to spend large amounts of time & money to defend himself,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.
“The Dems don’t want to run against me or they would not be doing this unprecedented weaponization of ‘Justice,'” he added. “BUT SOON, IN 2024, IT WILL BE OUR TURN. MAGA!”
Trump also has recently been indicted in two unrelated cases related to payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels and his handling and retention of classified documents after his time as president.
Trump blasted the latest indictment after it was released, calling it part of a “witch hunt.” His team argues the string of court dates will slow down Trump’s campaigning for president.
“I AM NOW GOING TO WASHINGTON, D.C., TO BE ARRESTED FOR HAVING CHALLENGED A CORRUPT, RIGGED, & STOLEN ELECTION,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. “IT IS A GREAT HONOR, BECAUSE I AM BEING ARRESTED FOR YOU. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
Republicans were quick to criticize the indictment as well, saying it is politically motivated while Biden avoids charges for his own alleged overseas deals with his son, Hunter.
“The American people are smart and they see Biden’s lies and corruption. President Trump has never been in a stronger political position,” U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said on social media just before the arraignment.
Democrats, though, have backed the indictment, characterizing it as a solemn day for the country.
“This indictment is the most serious and most consequential thus far and will stand as a stark reminder to generations of Americans that no one, including a president of the United States, is above the law,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement earlier this week. “The legal process must continue to move forward without any outside interference.”
