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As was to be expected, Donald Trump turned himself in on Tuesday to face charges in the well-known hush money case.
Tuesday around 1:30 p.m. local time, according to NBC News, Trump arrived at a courthouse in Manhattan. Before his formal arraignment at 2:15 p.m. local time, which has been set, he will now have his fingerprints taken. In an update on Truth Social, Trump referred to the trip to the courts as “surreal.”
According to The Associated Press, he was never cuffed and never entered a cell despite being “technically” detained (thus the fingerprinting and processing). Trump is a former president who has Secret Service protection, according to the outlet, and some of the courthouse was cleared out for his arraignment.
A Manhattan grand jury accused Trump on March 30 for his alleged involvement in a hush money conspiracy involving a payment to Stormy Daniels. The indictment came after an extensive investigation, making Trump the first sitting or former president to be charged with a crime.
The trial phase of the procedures in Trump’s case is not anticipated to start until 2024. Former Manhattan assistant district attorney Marc Agnifilo recently told MSNBC that he anticipates the trial to take place “maybe a year from now,” adding that this time frame is “probably a safe guess.”