(WJW) — Former President Donald Trump will be in Washington D.C. today where he will be arraigned on federal charges related to the 2020 election.
This is Donald Trump’s third indictment this year.
The former president will be arraigned at 4 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Washington D.C., which is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol where his supporters rioted on January 6, 2021.
Trump faces four felony counts. He’s accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and block the peaceful transfer of power.
Prosecutors say he was determined to remain in power.
The indictment accuses Trump of knowingly spreading false claims about election fraud.
Special counsel Jack Smith lays it out, saying the former president had the right to contest the election and the right to make false claims however he broke the law when he tried to throw out votes, organize fake electors, and subvert the election process including pressuring former Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence reacted to the indictment, saying Trump is “entitled to the presumption of innocence”, however, he added that “Anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be President of the United States.”
He went on to say, “For my part, I want people to know that I had no right to overturn the election… Uh, and that, uh, and what the president maintained that day and, frankly, has said over and over again over the last two-and-a-half years, is completely false and it’s, and it’s contrary to what our constitution and the laws of this country provide”
Security in and around the courthouse in D.C. is tight.
Workers put up barricades outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is due in court on Thursday, the first step in a legal process that will play out in a courthouse between the White House he once controlled and the Capitol his supporters once stormed. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
Workers put up barricades outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is due in court on Thursday, the first step in a legal process that will play out in a courthouse between the White House he once controlled and the Capitol his supporters once stormed. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
Workers put up barricades and secure the area outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is due in court on Thursday, the first step in a legal process that will play out in a courthouse between the White House he once controlled and the Capitol his supporters once stormed. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 
Department of Homeland Security police officers talk outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is due in court on Thursday, the first step in a legal process that will play out in a courthouse between the White House he once controlled and the Capitol his supporters once stormed. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Yesterday, Capitol police responded to a 911 call claiming there was an active shooter on the Senate side of the building. They responded within seconds but found nothing.
Donald Trump will likely be fingerprinted and processed before going before the judge.
He has the option to appear virtually but is expected to be there in person in Washington this afternoon.
The special counsel wants to go to trial before the election. However, Trump’s attorneys are expected to formally challenge that timeline.
