WASHINGTON (NewsNation) —Former President Donald Trump arrived in Washington Thursday afternoon to be arraigned on charges that he worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Flying in from New Jersey to Washington, Trump landed just before 3 p.m. ET to be driven to the federal courthouse downtown.
Federal investigators have accused Trump of a criminal scheme that ultimately led to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team alleged that Trump knew he lost the 2020 election but remained determined to stay in power, spreading lies in order to do so.
However, Trump claims he really believed the election was stolen, and still believes that this today.
The investigation involved many interviews, including with former Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke about the case while on the campaign trail Wednesday.
“I had no right to overturn the election. On that day, President Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution but I chose the Constitution, and I always will,” Pence said. “I really do believe that anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”
However, Pence went on to say that Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Overnight, the former president posted to Truth Social, calling for the trial to be moved out of D.C.
“The latest Fake ‘case’ brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia! IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness. It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World,” he wrote. “This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!”
Trump lawyer Alina Habba in remarks outside the courthouse claimed the former president used the law in an appropriate matter.
“In the matter of a couple months, we have seen them try and tie up — and me as an attorney I’ve never seen this — tie up one individual who’s running a campaign..so that he is in court, in depositions and distracted so that he won’t properly run for 20204,” she said. “Frankly, it’s not going to work.”
While the arraignment is set to be handled Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadyaha, going forward, it will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by then-President Barack Obama. Chutkan has been described as one of the toughest punishers of Capitol rioters.
Federal judges are randomly selected to preside over criminal cases.
The arraignment will begin around 4 p.m. ET. Road closures and possible protests are expected outside the courthouse later in the day.
“Like with any protected movement, there is a very robust and layered security plan for the former president’s appearance,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the United States Secret Service said in a statement.
This is the third criminal case brought against Trump in less than six months.
He was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign. Smith’s office also has charged him with 40 felony counts in Florida, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and refusing government demands to give them back. He has pleaded not guilty in both those cases, which are set for trial next year.
And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.