Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded "not guilty" during his Tuesday arraignment on federal charges related to his classified documents case. His aide, Walt Nauta, was not arraigned on Tuesday because he did not have local counsel, Reuters reported, adding that he will be arraigned on June 27. 

This is not the first time that Trump has pled not guilty this year. He made the same to plea to state charges in New York stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star. Tuesday's appearance in Miami was on federal charges. Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and accuses Democratic President Joe Biden's administration of targeting him. He called Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, a "Trump hater" on social media on Tuesday.

Smith accuses Trump of risking national secrets by taking thousands of sensitive papers with him when he left the White House in January 2021 and storing them in a haphazard manner at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate and his New Jersey golf club, according to a grand jury indictment released last week.

Photos included in the indictment show boxes of documents stored on a ballroom stage, in a bathroom and strewn across a storage-room floor.
The indictment alleges Trump lied to officials who tried to get them back. The indictment of a former U.S. president on federal charges is unprecedented in American history. 

The indictment also alleges Trump conspired with Nauta to keep classified documents and hide them from a federal grand jury. Hundreds of journalists and protesters from around the world were gathered Tuesday outside the courthouse in downtown Miami where former President Donald Trump made his first appearance on criminal charges that he improperly held on to classified documents.

The crowd waiting for Trump's arrival also included supporters who criticize the the felony charges against the former president and those who oppose him, with some people waving signs and flags and at times shouting over one another. Journalists from China, the UK, Australia, France, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland were among the hundreds of journalists who have converged on the courthouse. Some of them have spent several days camped out in the muggy heat.

The international attention and growing crowds were another sign of the extraordinary nature of the event and the person at the center of it. A criminal defendant like no other, Trump is the first former president to appear before a federal judge on criminal charges. He also is leading the Republican field for the 2024 presidential nomination, and has so far held his status as frontrunner even as he has faced other legal troubles.

Experts say it could be a year or more before a trial takes place, due to the complexities of handling classified evidence. Trump's lawyers could file a blizzard of motions to challenge Smith's case before it reaches trial, which would lead to further delays. In the meantime, Trump is free to campaign for the presidency and could take office even if he were to be found guilty.

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