WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump entered a not-guilty plea when he was arraigned Thursday for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
"This is a very sad day for America," Trump said to reporters after his hearing.
Trump spoke with reporters at the Newark Airport on Thursday after he was formally arraigned following a Jan. 6 grand jury investigation and indictment earlier this week.
"It's crazy. It's jaw-dropping," Professor Alain Sanders with Saint Peter's University said. "It's unprecedented, and it's shocking."
Trump's charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights, meaning the right to vote and to have that vote counted.
"They're really the most serious charges that you can make against a president. They're basically saying that the president violated his oath of office," Sanders said. "That means he basically violated the Constitution. We've never had a situation where a president was accused of that."
The 45-page indictment accuses the former president of creating "widespread mistrust" and spreading "lies about election fraud."
The former president has denied all wrongdoing related to the 2020 election, calling it a "fake indictment" in a series of posts on Truth Social.
"This is the persecution of the person that's leading by very, very substantial numbers at the Republican primary, leading Biden by a lot," Trump said Thursday. "So if you can't beat him, you persecute him, you prosecute him. We can't let this happen in America."
The next hearing in the Jan. 6 case is set for Aug. 28, five days after the first GOP primary debate.
Trump is also facing a possible indictment in the state of Georgia for trying to interfere with election results there as well. Legal analysts expect that to happen within the next few weeks.
"In Georgia, if he is indicted, he will be facing state statutes that pertain to the election and whatever statutory violations the jury in Georgia finds," Sanders said.
