A surreal day in American history has come to a close, after former President Trump was arrested, booked and arraigned in a New York City courthouse.
Trump is now back at his Florida home, where he made televised comments Tuesday night following his court appearance.
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The former president pleaded not guilty to a 34-count felony indictment that alleges he illegally influenced the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments, cementing him in history as the first U.S. president, sitting or former, to be criminally charged.
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Donald Trump Returns to New York
Although it has been a hectic few days in Lower Manhattan, there were signs on Wednesday morning that things were moving on. By the courthouse, the street had been reopened.
"I never thought anything like this could happen in America, never thought it could happen," Trump said Tuesday night during his televised comments. "The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it."
Trump arrived to the courthouse in Manhattan Tuesday afternoon, before being fingerprinted, processed and heading to a courtroom on the 15th floor.
Then, Trump in his own voice pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts during a nearly hour-long hearing.
Prosecutors said that the charges stemmed from an alleged hush money scheme.
"We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. "The defendant repeatedly made false statements on New York business records."
Outside court, hundreds packed into a park across the street. NYPD officers had to rush in at one point and break up a clash between Trump supporters and those calling for him to go to prison.
What's Next for Donald Trump
The legal process surrounding this case will now take months or even longer, as prosecutors allege that Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified business records.
The indictment, which contains 34 felony charges, was unsealed on Tuesday. It reveals that three people allegedly received hush money payments: adult film star Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman.
Prosecutors said that the doorman claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.
The indictment alleges that Daniels was paid $130,000 by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and that MacDougal and the doorman were paid by the publisher of the National Enquirer.
Prosecutors said it was done to conceal criminal conduct that would have been damaging in the 2016 election.
NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said there are still a lot of questions about this case.
“The question at the end of the day, though, still becomes one of will the government be able to prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt here," Coyne said. "As you can see from the indictment itself, there’s really a lot of details lacking in the indictment.”
As for what's coming next in the case, prosecutors have 15 days to turn over all evidence gathered, known as discovery. The former president's legal team, meanwhile, has until Aug. 8 to file motions. His lawyers have already said one of their first will be to get the case dismissed.
Both sides will be back in court, but not until Dec. 4.
