Trump indictment LIVE updates: Former US president appears in court, pleads not guilty over January 6 US Capitol attack

Donald Trump is speaking to the media before departing Washington, having pleaded not guilty to four felony counts relating to his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

In comments that lasted less than 60 seconds, Trump declared it a “very sad day for America” and bemoaned the “filth and decay” he saw during his short time in the US capital, most of which was spent inside the courtroom.

Former president Donald Trump speaks after being charged.Credit: AP

“It was also very sad driving through Washington and seeing the filth and decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti. This is not the place that I left,” the 45th president said.

“When you look at what’s happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent.

“This was never supposed to happen in America.

“This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot.

“So if you can’t beat him, you persecute him or your prosecute him. We can’t let this happen in America.”

Trump finished his remarks and did not take any questions.

And that’s where we will end our live coverage of the third, but most significant indictment hearing that former president Donald Trump has faced in four months.

Former president Donald Trump arrives to board his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.Credit: AP

Recapping the events overnight:

• Trump pleaded not guilty to four felony counts relating to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
• He flew from New Jersey to Washington to attend the hearing in person and registered his plea himself.
• He was released on conditions, including that he commit no crimes or talk to witnesses about the case.
• The arraignment lasted about 30 minutes after starting 20 minutes late because the magistrate was late.
• Trump’s next hearing will be on August 28 when a trial date is expected to be set.
• Before departing Washington, Trump spoke for about a minute and decried the events as a “sad day for America”, accusing Biden of prosecuting him because he hadn’t been able to persecute him strongly enough to dent his popularity.

Read more from our US correspondent Farrah Tomazin in Washington: ‘We can’t let this happen’, Trump says after pleading not guilty to 2020 election plot

Thank you, as always, for joining us.

John Bolton was one of Donald Trump’s many national security advisers.

He has been speaking to the ABC’s Radio National and said Trump’s legal strategy would be political and aimed at delaying the trial until after the next presidential election, after which point he could simply dismiss it if victorious.

John Bolton (left) with Donald Trump and then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo in 2019.Credit: AP

“So this question of the scheduling of the trial is absolutely critical,” Bolton said.

“If Trump is convicted in one or more [of the trials], that would stop his campaign.

“On the other hand, if he is acquitted or gets a hung jury ... I think he’s on the way to Republican nomination, and he may be on his way to election.”

Bolton’s analysis is relevant as he was critical of the former president in his memoir and account of his time in administration.

He said Republicans opposed to Trump needed to make their case against him better.

“They’re afraid to take him on,” he said. “The candidate who wins the Republican nomination will be the candidate who beats Donald Trump.”

Donald Trump is speaking to the media before departing Washington, having pleaded not guilty to four felony counts relating to his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

In comments that lasted less than 60 seconds, Trump declared it a “very sad day for America” and bemoaned the “filth and decay” he saw during his short time in the US capital, most of which was spent inside the courtroom.

Former president Donald Trump speaks after being charged.Credit: AP

“It was also very sad driving through Washington and seeing the filth and decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti. This is not the place that I left,” the 45th president said.

“When you look at what’s happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent.

“This was never supposed to happen in America.

“This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot.

“So if you can’t beat him, you persecute him or your prosecute him. We can’t let this happen in America.”

Trump finished his remarks and did not take any questions.

Donald Trump is preparing to leave Washington.

He spent fewer than three hours in the capital for his brief court appearance, having flown in on his private jet, Trump Force One, from New Jersey.

He is expected to speak to the media from the tarmac at Ronald Reagan Airport before boarding his jet.

And that concludes Donald Trump’s arraignment hearing. The former president has left the courtroom after a brief appearance.

His motorcade is on the way to Reagan International Airport.

The motorcade carrying former President Donald Trump leaves E. Barrett Prettyman US Federal Courthouse.Credit: AP

His court arraignment lasted about 30 minutes, having started 20 minutes late because the magistrate was late.

Put August 28 in your diaries, as this is when a trial date is expected to be set.

Team Trump has already suggested they want a trial held as late as possible, with his lawyer Alina Habba citing the process of legal discovery as a reason for needing a lot of time.

Magistrate Moxila A Upadhyaya has handed Donald Trump a document containing the conditions of release pending trial.

Trump has signed the document, according to reporters inside the courthouse.

Trump was warned, as is standard, that he could be arrested if he violated the conditions of his release. This included that he must not communicate about the case to any witnesses.

Trump, who has registered his third court appearance in four months, was also warned not to commit any crimes.

The Department of Justice has been asked to propose a trial date within seven days, as well as an outline of how long it expected a trial to take.

No trial date was expected to be set at today’s hearing.

The next hearing will be before the judge who will oversee the trial, Tanya Chutkan, and has been set for August 28, although Trump is told he does not need to attend physically.

A trial date is likely to be set on that day.

As expected, Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four counts relating to his alleged attempts to overthrow the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

The magistrate assigned to his arraignment hearing, Moxila A Upadhyaya, was running late and started the proceedings almost 20 minutes after they were slated to begin.

Upadhyaya referred to him as “Mr Trump” and “sir” rather than president, as is often the case in the US, and was used by Trump’s own lawyer.

Trump stood and raised his right hand to take the oath from the court official.

Trump provided his name and age as “seven seven,” before the magistrate read out the four felony counts he faces and the maximum sentence of 20 years that a guilty verdict would bring.

He entered his not guilty plea himself.

Read more from our US correspondent Farrah Tomazin in Washington: Trump returns to Washington to plead not guilty for trying to overturn 2020 election results

The Associated Press reports that three police officers who helped defend the US Capitol against the violent mob that Trump is accused of inciting are attending his court arraignment.

Left to right: US Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers Michael Fanone, and Daniel Hodges and US Capitol Police Sergeant Harry Dunn testify before the House select committee hearing on the January 6 attack.Credit: Getty

They are Daniel Hodges and Aquilino Gonnell, who were injured in the violence, and Harry Dunn, who was chased by violent protesters.

“All I have wanted from day one is accountability,” Dunn said in a statement released by his lawyer after he went into the federal court in Washington.

Also in the courtroom is special counsel Jack Smith who has brought the prosecution against Trump.

Former US president Donald Trump is inside the courtroom attending his arraignment hearing.

CBS reporter Scott MacFarlane, who is inside the courtroom, says that Trump is seated between two attorneys facing the empty jury box, wearing the same navy suit with red tie that he wore for his two prior court hearings.

Meanwhile, NBC’s Ryan J Reilly also reports that Trump has spent time seated alone at the defence table.

Read more from our US correspondent Farrah Tomazin in Washington: Trump returns to Washington to plead not guilty for trying to overturn 2020 election results

One of Donald Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba, is speaking to the media.

She said that the prosecution of the former president was “election interference” and aimed at distracting Trump from launching a successful run at the White House.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for former president Donald Trump, speaks after Trump arrived at the E. Barrett Prettyman US Federal Courthouse.Credit: AP

“This is election interference at its finest, against the leading candidate right now for president, for either party,” Habba said.

“President Trump is under siege in a way we have never seen before.”

She claimed that Trump’s decision to give up his “good life” to “fight for this country” was frightening to career politicians.

She said all Trump’s legal team needed to prove was that the former president believed that the 2020 result was “not completely honest”.

Asked why she didn’t want to expedite a trial if she was so confident that it was merely a “witch hunt,” Habba said the process of legal discovery meant that Trump needed time to present the facts and would not be rushed.