Trump arrives in New York ahead of court appearance

Donald Trump landed in New York yesterday ahead of a historic arraignment in a Manhattan criminal court to face charges connected to hush money payments allegedly made to a porn star in the lead up to his 2016 election.

- ALEX WOODWARD

His Boeing 757 arrived at LaGuardia Airport shortly after 1500 local time [2000 GMT] before his caravan escorted him to his Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the headquarters for his Trump Organisation and the namesake skyscraper from where he launched his first presidential campaign after descending his beloved "golden escalators" in 2015.

On 4 April, Mr Trump will appear inside New York City Criminal Court to be formally charged in connection with that same campaign after district attorney Alvin Bragg announced a grand jury indictment against him last week.

Mr Trump does not intend to stay long, however, though his supporters are expected to protest outside the courthouse where throngs of reporters and international news media have camped for several days; Mr Trump has scheduled a press conference back at Mar-a-Lago that same night.

The former president's motorcade left his Florida compound for Palm Beach International Airport shortly after noon yesterday, joined by a small army of campaign aides and advisers, including his son Eric Trump.

City officials and law enforcement agencies braced for his arrival and a potentially volatile atmosphere in Manhattan, where New York City mayor Eric Adams warned out-of-town "rabble rousers" who plan to protest to "control yourselves".