Former US Republican President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty of the charges against him in a landmark criminal act in a New York court.

Trump, age 76 and reigned between 2017 and 2021, is on trial for embezzlement in connection with black money paid to a porn star in 2016a process that will mark his ambition for the presidential race next year.

Trump arrived at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in lower Manhattan, where he was placed under arrest and in police custody prior to his arraignment.

As he got out of the vehicle that took him out of his residence at Trump Tower on 5th Avenue, Trump raised his fist with a serious face in salute to his supporters before disappearing into the courthouse.

The former president, who will technically be in custody, must undergo the usual procedure for a defendant, such as taking fingerprints and photos for the court file.

Both the Republican tycoon and his lawyers have maintained that the case is bogus, whose charges, which are still sealed, will be read by Colombian-born judge Juan Mercchán.

The press speculates that there will be about thirty, in connection with falsification of trade data.

The Trump case is also played out in the media. Dozens of journalists from around the world spent the cold night awake trying to get a spot in the room where they could hear the charges brought against him by the Manhattan prosecutor’s office at the same time as Trump.

Unlike other states, where television cameras are allowed in courtrooms, Judge Merchán made no exception on this occasion. It only allows photographers to capture this historic moment a few minutes before the hearing begins.

As the time approaches for Trump’s arrival from his 5th Avenue skyscraper, the New York Police Department, on high alert, has tightened security around the courthouse in mid-south Manhattan, where his followers and opponents began to arrive.

“Make America Great Again” (MAGA) read the caps and t-shirts of some. “Trump lies all the time,” others proclaimed.

Paulina Farr came from nearby Long Island, a Republican stronghold, to “show support for our President Trump.”

The retired nurse told AFP who had also been in Washington on January 6, 2021 when thousands of supporters stormed the Capitol, but this protest “is very different.”

In an effort to politicize justice and motivate his followers, who have so far responded by sending him more than $7 million for his campaign since the charges were announced last Thursday, the tycoon recalled on the Truth Social network what he already used as a motto: “They don’t come for me, they come for you. I’m just in his way.”

It is “IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a fair trial” in New York, he added of his Democratic-ruled hometown, following prosecutor Alvin Bragg’s decision to indict him last Thursday and uphold a grand jury’s decision.

Bragg will hold a press conference after Trump’s hearing. The magnate, in turn, has also announced that he will address the press.