NEW YORK: The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, arrived in a Manhattan courtroom on 4 April 2023 around 2:28pm, more than three hours after he was supposed to arrive. Donald Trump is the first former US president to be indicted on criminal charges.

On Friday 31 March 2023, a New York City court charged Donald Trump with multiple felonies in connection to a case involving the payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels in an attempt to cover up their sexual relationship prior to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts, including falsifying business records to hide payments amounting to $130,000 to Stormy Daniels meant to stop her from publicizing any information about their relationship.

In the United States, paying someone hush-money is not necessarily illegal, however the court's jury found that Trump had falsified company documents with the intent to defraud and commit further crimes, which is a felony offense. In 2018 Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, was found guilty of tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations in an effort to buy Daniels’ silence.

During the hearing yesterday, security was tight as both pro and anti-Trump crowds gathered outside the courthouse. Trump supporter turnout was so unexpectedly low that Republican allies Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos left shortly after arriving to the event.