Donald Trump arraignment: Tensions run high as former US president's court appearance sparks major security operation

Authorities in Miami are preparing for as many as 50,000 protestors

When Donald Trump arrives at Miami’s Wilkie D Jr federal courthouse later today via a tunnel linked to an underground car park, he may not see his supporters, but there is every chance he will be able to hear them.

On an unprecedented day in which Mr Trump will become the first former president in US history to hear federal charges against him read out in a court of law, authorities in the Florida city are preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best.

In a country where memories of the horrific attacks on the US Capitol loom large over the febrile political landscape, the security operation for Mr Trump’s arraignment – where he will face 37 criminal counts of unauthorised possession of classified material, obstruction of justice and making false statements to law enforcement – is significant.

Squads of federal and local officers and sniffer dogs could be seen patrolling the area around the court in the lead up to Mr Trump’s appearance, expected around 8pm BST. Manny Morales, the Miami police chief, said his force was ready to deal with anywhere between 5,000 to 50,000 protesters, and mindful of potential clashes.

"If we begin to see that there's opposing parties, we'll, at that time, make sure that they're separated, and there's plenty of officers on the scene to make sure that we maintain the safety and security of all," he vowed.

Addressing a press conference on Monday evening, Mr Morales acknowledged there was “a potential of things taking a turn for the worse” and stressed the police were taking the event “extremely seriously”. But, he noted, the kind of extreme demonstrations seen elsewhere were “not the Miami way”, and he expressed confidence the day would pass without any major flashpoints.

He explained: “We have extremely high confidence in the residents and the folks that live here in the city of Miami. They are used to demonstrating, they're used to exercising their First Amendment rights, and they are incredibly respectful and supportive of law enforcement here in south Florida.”

Department of Homeland Security police patrol the Miami court where Donald Trump will appear on Tuesday. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty

The city’s mayor, Francis Suarez, echoed the plans in place to deal with up to 50,000 protestors. He hinted it was prepared to deal with any potential violence. “We encourage people to be peaceful demonstrating how they feel,” he said. “And we are going to have the adequate forces necessary to ensure that.”

When asked if he would ask Mr Trump to encourage his supporters to protest peacefully, Mr Suarez said he had not spoken to the 76 year-old. Yet the suggestion that even if Mr Suarez were to attempt an intervention, it would make a difference, seems naive at best.

It is telling that even by Mr Trump’s tempestuous standards, his rhetoric has intensified ahead of the court appearance. During his first public rally since his federal indictment was unsealed, Mr Trump announced “our people are angry,” and referenced a “final battle” underway to save the country. “In the end, they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you,” he told his supporters in Georgia at the weekend. “I’m just standing in their way.”

Meanwhile, in a post to his Truth Social platform on Monday, he openly and brazenly vowed to weaponise the levers of government to target his political rivals if he becomes only the second US president to serve non-consecutive terms. The post, written in capital letters, saw Mr Trump promise to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to pursue the “entire [Joe] Biden crime family” and “all others” involved in the “destruction” of the US.

Donald Trump arriving in Miami on Monday. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty

Such incendiary language plays into Mr Trump’s long-standing strategy of portraying himself as the victim of the ‘deep state’, and will do little to lower the temperature in Miami. Some of his most high-profile supporters have gone even further in recent days. Keri Lake, a Trumpist Republican who stood unsuccessfully to become Arizona’s governor last year, said if people want to get to Mr Trump, they would have to “go through 75 million Americans just like me”, adding: “I’m going to tell you, most of us are card carrying members of the NRA [National Rifle Association]. That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.”

The fear, as always with Mr Trump and his supporters, is such inflammatory pronouncements will translate into action. That is a cause for nervousness in a state with notoriously lax gun laws.

Benjamin Decker, chief executive of Memetica, a threat intelligence group, said there had been an upsurge in violent rhetoric on fringe social media platforms and online channels such as 4chan, Gab, Gettr, and Telegram. Some of the language has targeted Attorney General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, the special counsel tasked with overseeing the US Justice Department's criminal investigations into Mr Trump.

However, Mr Decker noted there appeared to be less in the way of coordinated large-scale planning on such sites, as was witnessed in the run up to the US Capitol attack. “There is a lot of paranoia among Trump supporters about getting arrested," he told NPR. "And the cost of arrest and potential jail time, that's still going to deter people ... who may be on the fence about being there to exercise their First Amendment rights or being there to participate in mob violence.”

The people of Miami will be hoping such predictions come true. But as is always the case when Mr Trump and his supporters decide to take a wrench to nuts and bolts of American democracy, tensions will remain high.