Trump’s Federal Court Appearance Attracts Supporters, Protesters…and a Pig’s Head

Estrada, of Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, said he didn’t think his pig’s head sent an overtly partisan message. He showed up outside of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. federal courthouse, he said, because “we’re living history today” and he is “a Cuban who likes democracy.”

Asked what the pig’s head represented, Estrada said: “Remember ‘Lord of the Flies’? ” and then added, “I’m here to celebrate the historic moment.”

Like many events involving Trump in recent years, his arraignment on federal charges—the first ever against a former president—turned into a show. The palm-tree-lined walkways outside the courthouse, where by late morning the temperature was edging closer to 90 degrees, was ringed by media tents and cameras and hundreds of people. At least one rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy, joined in outside the courthouse, promising to pardon Trump if he is elected president and Trump is convicted.

The event posed unique security risks, with tensions brewing between pro- and anti-Trump factions. Local authorities and the Department of Homeland Security with K-9 units were on site to keep throngs of Trump detractors and backers peaceful. By late morning, authorities cleared the media and crowd out from the front of the courthouse and cordoned off the area with yellow tape: “POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS.”

At one point, a television displaying a profane statement hung from a street lamp. Later, authorities could be seen inspecting the TV, with at least one in a vest that said bomb squad.

Trump has painted the indictment, the first emanating from an investigation by special counsel Jack Smith, as a politically motivated effort to undermine him, and some of his allies have called for payback.

Donald Trump was charged with 37 counts in the investigation into his handling of classified documents. In his indictment, federal prosecutors lay out how they allege the former president kept national-defense information he knew he wasn’t supposed to have. Photo Illustration: Xingpei Shen

The scene was as much a visual spectacle as it was an audible one. Helicopters circled overhead. The occasional police siren wailed. A catchy tune poured from the speakers at a tent set up by Radio Mambí 710 AM, which played lyrics in English and Spanish. Signs people carried ranged from “Finally Trump arrested” and “Trump is toast” to “Lock Biden Up” and “In Trump We Trust.” 

The courthouse began attracting media Monday, when the walkways in front of the building were dotted with TV cameras and tented awnings that offered a little shade and some protection from the occasional rain shower.

Red and yellow tape marked off where different news outlets—their names written in black marker—had staked out spots. Reporters had been queuing up for hours in the hopes of snagging a seat inside the courtroom Tuesday. A few chickens roamed the grass, clucking and crowing amid the hubbub.

The 13th floor lobby outside courtroom 13-3 where Trump is expected to appear at 3 p.m. boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing expansive views of the city.

Bob Kunst, a Miami Beach native who says he supports Trump, set up a chair in front of the courthouse with a white sign with red lettering in support of Trump. “Lock Biden Up,” its last line read.

Kunst said the indictment of the former president was the worst move officials could have made.

“The more they attack him, the more Trump people get on board,” he said.

Earlier Monday, Trump had announced on his social-media platform, Truth Social, that he would appear in Doral, Fla., where he has a golf resort, the Trump National Doral Miami, about 12 miles from the courthouse. 

It was mostly quiet at Doral on Monday evening. Men in polo shirts dined at Champions Bar & Grill, where the menu included a $28 Trump Burger. The only sign of Trump’s presence was when two men wearing vests emblazoned with “Secret Service” rolled by on a golf cart. 

Kunst returned to the front of the courthouse at 7 a.m. Tuesday and was joined by a rising number of people congregating here. 

A group of people wearing white “Blacks for Trump 2020” T-shirts rallied outside the courthouse before 8:30 a.m. Maurice Symonette, the founder of the group, said he would like to see the case against Trump dismissed. “You all are going to hell for messing with Trump like this,” he said.

Symonette’s words drew rebuke from a man who wasn’t with the group but stood nearby. “Biden didn’t try to overthrow the government, y’all,” called out Scott Linnen, a Miami resident, before walking away.

“We don’t need that negativity,” one of the men with the Blacks for Trump group replied.

Linnen told The Wall Street Journal he welcomed the indictment. “Today is 888 days since the Capitol was attacked,” he said. “More than anything, I needed to come down here today for this documents case just as an affirmation that we are moving, albeit at a snail’s pace, in the right direction…toward justice.”

Gregg Donovan said he arrived in Miami from California on Monday just to take part in the action. He stood outside the courthouse Tuesday with a blue Trump 2024 sign, a black top hat with Trump’s photo on front and a gold chain around his neck with a sign that read, “In Trump we trust.”

“I’m here to support the president in every way I can,” he said. “I think this is the worst thing for the Republican Party since the assassination of President Lincoln. It’s just surreal.”

Luimar Garza had set up a tent on the sidewalk with a neon sign that read, “Homeless 4 Trump.” Garza said she wanted to be outside the courthouse to support the former president.

“We’re about to teach people a lesson,” she said.

Jack Kaplan said he came from Port St. Lucie, Fla., to witness the historic moment. He carried a sign that said “Trump is toast” on one side.

He said he wasn’t expecting the situation to devolve into violence.

“It’s not going to be Jan. 6 because there was no time to plan,” he said. “The extremists, they learned their lesson from Jan. 6. They’re not going to risk going to jail again.”

Write to Erin Ailworth at [email protected]

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