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WASHINGTON: Donald Trump and his allies are stepping up efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and stoke protests as the former US president prepares to appear in federal court making history this week in dozens of Fillings offense He accuses him of illegal hoarding secret information.
Trump’s appearance on Tuesday afternoon in Miami marks the second time in as many months that he has faced a judge on criminal charges. But unlike the New York case that some legal analysts derided as relatively frivolous, the first US Justice Department trial of a former president involved conduct that prosecutors say endangered national security and involved Espionage Act charges that carry the threat of a large prison sentence if believed.
Prior to his indictment, Trump escalated the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who brought the case, calling Jack Smith “unhinged” and his team of prosecutors “thugs” and repeating without any evidence his allegations that he was the target of political persecution.
He called on his supporters to join a planned protest at a Miami courthouse on Tuesday, when he will stand trial over the charges against him. “We need strength in our country right now,” Trump told his longtime friend and advisor Roger Stone in an interview with WABC Radio. “And they have to get out and protest peacefully. They have to get out. Look, our country has to protest. We’ve lost everything.”
He also said there are “absolutely no” circumstances under which he would leave the 2024 race, where he so far controls the GOP primaries. Other Trump supporters rallied to his defense with similar language, including Carrie Lake, the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona who said over the weekend that if prosecutors wanted to “get to President Trump,” they would have to “get through.” Me, and 75 million Americans like me. And most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.”
Trump’s calls for the protest echoed warnings he made before he appeared in a New York court last April, where he faces charges stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign, though he complained that those who showed up to protest were “too far away.” Which no one knew about them, and just like in this case, he plans to address his supporters in a speech on Tuesday evening, hours after his court date.
Trump is expected to leave for Miami on Monday. After his court appearance, he will return to New Jersey, where he has scheduled a press event to respond publicly to the charges against him. Trump supporters were also planning to load up on buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, alarming law enforcement officials who were bracing for the possibility of unrest around the courtroom.



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