NEW YORK - A plane carrying former U.S. President Donald Trump took off from a Florida airport bound for New York City on Monday as he prepared to face charges stemming from an investigation into hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election.
With New York taking security precautions and the mayor insisting any would-be rabble-rousers behave, Trump was due to surrender at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office on Tuesday and will likely be fingerprinted prior to appearing before a judge for an arrangement where he will plead not guilty.
Trump, a Republican seeking to regain the presidency in 2024, is the former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Trump has hired Todd Blanche, a prominent white-collar criminal defense lawyer and a former federal prosecutor, to lead his defense, said two sources familiar with the matter.
The specific charges in the grand jury indictment have yet to be disclosed. Trump has said he is innocent, and he and his allies have portrayed the charges as politically motivated.
A motorcade of several vehicles transported Trump from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach to the airport in nearby West Palm Beach. Trump and members of his entourage climbed a set of stairs and entered his plane, painted in red, white and blue with TRUMP in big letters on the side and an image of the American flag on the tails.
Earlier Trump said on social media he would go to Trump Tower in Manhattan after arriving in New York, then would head to the courthouse on Tuesday morning.
Before his plane departed, small groups of Trump fans waited to show their support at the airport and his route to get there.
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