Trump Returns To NYC Ahead Of Historic Arraignment In Hush Money Case

Updated 4:57 p.m.

NEW YORK CITY — With a wave to a crowd, former President Donald Trump walked into Trump Tower to await his unprecedented arraignment Tuesday on charges related to a hush-money payment to a porn star.

Trump's arrival in New York City Monday drew media attention not unlike O.J. Simpson's infamous slow-speed car chase nearly three decades prior — a phalanx of helicopters tracked his motorcade's journey from LaGuardia Airport to Manhattan.

Despite warnings of disruptive street closures, the motorcade shared the road with rush hour traffic — which meant New Yorkers headed uptown on the FDR Drive about 4 p.m. might have whizzed past the former president.

The surreal spectacle that brought the nation's eyes on New York City roughly 24 hours before Trump is expected to be booked, have his mugshot taken and be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court.

And that's exactly what Trump wanted, according to a report in Rolling Stone. The former president dismissed an offer for a below-the-radar surrender and arraignment over Zoom, opting instead for a midday booking in Manhattan, the report states.

“He wanted a perp walk, he wanted daylight hours,” a law enforcement official told Rolling Stone.

"It’s kind of a Jesus Christ thing," the official told the magazine, according to the report.

Updated 3:33 p.m.

NEW YORK CITY — Donald Trump is back in New York City.

A plane emblazoned with "TRUMP" and carrying the former president landed Monday about 3:30 p.m. at LaGuardia Airport.

Trump's journey from Florida to New York City comes ahead of his unprecedented expected arraignment Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

As with everything in the criminal case, the plane's approach to LaGuardia garnered wall-to-wall coverage. From the airport, Trump is expected to travel to Trump Tower, where he said he'll spend the night before the court hearing.

Updated 2:05 p.m.

New York City will have zero tolerance for protesters, including a controversial congresswoman, who may be intent on destruction and violence amid the Tuesday criminal court hearing against former President Donald Trump, said Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams singled out Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene during his wider warning Monday.

“While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: control yourselves,” he said. “New York City is our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger.”

"Although we have no specific threats, people like Majorie Taylor Greene, who is known to spread misinformation and hate speech — she has stated she's coming to town. While you're in town, be on your best behavior."

Greene responded with a Twitter post in which she called Adams "delusional."

The mayor is "trying to intimidate, threaten, and stop me from using my 1st amendment rights to peacefully protest the Democrat’s unconstitutional weaponization of our justice system against our top Republican Presidential candidate, President Trump," she wrote.

Greene is scheduled to appear at a Tuesday rally thrown by the New York Young Republican Club in support of Trump at 10:30 a.m. at Collect Pond Park.

Fears that protests won't be peaceful have been fueled by Trump's own words. In one characteristically combative social media post, Trump appeared to mock calls for peaceful protest.

"OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED, AS THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!" he posted at one point.

9:45 a.m.

Former President Donald Trump is heading back to the city that he has all-but-disowned — and vice versa — to face an unprecedented criminal indictment.

Trump, in a late-night post on his social media site, said he plans to leave his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida at noon Monday for Trump Tower in Manhattan.

"On Tuesday morning I will be going to, believe it or not, the Courthouse," he wrote. "America was not supposed to be this way!"

Trump is expected to be arraigned Tuesday on more than 30 criminal counts related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had sex with the former president when he was a New York City real estate mogul and reality TV star.

The hush-money payment came on the eve of the 2016 election through Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to charges relating to it and has said the former president reimbursed him through the Trump Organization.

A grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg handed down the historic indictment last week and made Trump the first ex-president to face criminal charges.

The indictment has set New York City, and beyond, on edge.

NYPD top brass have instructed all officers to prepare for mobilization ahead of potential mass protests and unrest in Manhattan. Fears of violence by Trump supporters akin to the Jan. 6 have been stoked by Trump himself after a spate of social media posts, one of which showed him wielding a baseball bat next to a photograph of Bragg.

Trump likely will have a mugshot taken, but not be handcuffed ahead of his court hearing Tuesday.

News outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN, have asked the judge in the case — who has also attracted Trump's ire — to give permission to broadcast the arraignment and unseal the indictment, CNN reported.

"The News Organizations stand ready to work cooperatively with the Court to ensure that the public have an opportunity to observe this monumental and historical proceeding," the media outlets wrote in a joint letter, according to CNN.