Trump in Handcuffs? How His Indictment Would Work
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Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is on the verge of an unprecedented move: indicting a former president of the United States.
Donald Trump himself appears to be anticipating an indictment related to hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. Over the weekend, he wrote on Truth Social that he will be arrested Tuesday and urged his supporters to protest and “take our nation back.” The NYPD has started to place barricades outside the Manhattan Criminal Court and law enforcement is reportedly planning how to handle a potential indictment.
First, if the grand jury returns an indictment, Trump would be criminally charged and he would be subject to potential arrest. (Prosecutors are reportedly eyeing a felony offense related to the hush money.) However, Trump will probably not be “arrested” in the traditional way that one thinks of. Insider reports that his legal team and the prosecution will likely work out a date for Trump to surrender himself at the district attorney’s headquarters. A prosecutor who previously worked under Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., told Insider anonymously that Trump could be arraigned without spending time in custody and, instead, get issued a summons to appear for arraignment.
Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina has said that his client will surrender if charges are filed. “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” he told the New York Daily News.
Like any defendant, Trump has a right to appear before a judge at arraignment and enter a plea in his case. The court date would be set after the indictment is returned.
Despite the uncommon nature of a former leader of the country being criminally charged, some aspects of the process that follows will likely be similar, such as Trump being fingerprinted and photographed for a mugshot, according to the New York Times. But will the ex-president be seen in handcuffs?
“The handcuffing part, I think the police and Secret Service are negotiating whether or not that would happen or the specific details,” said former chief assistant district attorney Karen Agnifilo to Fox5. “But yes, he will be processed. He’ll be read his Miranda warning, he’ll be photographed, fingerprinted. Whether or not there’s a quote-unquote perp walk, I assume Mr. Trump will use the arrest of him as an opportunity to have more media done, so I think it may be his own perp walk is my guess.”
Time reports, citing an expert, that the former president probably won’t be considered a flight risk and will likely be released on bond.
Aside from his attorney, Trump would be accompanied by Secret Service agents who have been assigned to former presidents after they leave office.
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