Donald Trump has landed in New York ahead of his court appearance on criminal charges related to his role in hush money payments to a porn star.
The former US president is now making his way to Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he will spend the night before attending court on Tuesday.
The exact charges he faces will be disclosed in full at the hearing, at around 14:15 local time.
Trump, 76, is being escorted by members of the US Secret Service.
He is the first US president in history to be charged with a crime but has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
“On Tuesday morning I will be going to, believe it or not, the Courthouse,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. “America was not supposed to be this way!”
Trump flew in to New York’s LaGuardia Airport aboard his private Boeing 757 plane and is expected to spend the rest of Monday inside his former New York home with legal advisers.
He will travel to the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building, in Lower Manhattan, with a large Secret Service detail on Tuesday and surrender voluntarily for his arraignment.
Trump will be fingerprinted, as per standard arrest procedure, but it remains unclear whether he will be photographed.
He will then appear before a judge who will read the indictment – the set of charges – to him. His lawyers have already said he will plead not guilty.
One source told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that Trump faces a felony charge over falsifying business records. Other US media report there are approximately 30 counts in his indictment.
The former president is expected to be released on bail and return to his Florida home Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, where he plans to deliver remarks at 8:15 p.m. local time.
Ahead of Trump’s arrival in New York, security measures were beefed up at Trump Tower and outside the courthouse.
Law enforcement agencies – including the FBI, New York police and court officers, and the Secret Service – are said to be coordinating on security, in anticipation of any scenario. (BBC)
