- Trump critics and the MAGA faithful gathered in Miami ahead of the former president's arraignment.
- The former president faces a 37-count federal indictment over documents found at his Mar-a-Lago mansion.
Colorful signs and props filled the area outside the Miami federal courthouse on Tuesday morning ahead of former President Donald Trump's arraignment on Espionage Act charges. The strangest, though, had to be the pig's head on a stake.
Holding it was Osmany Estrada, who Getty Images identified as a "vocal opponent" of Trump.
"I am here expressing my joy, because in the end the system works," Estrada told the Miami Herald. "I am an intelligent Cuban. I am not here to support Trump. The best argument against democracy is this: how can you ask the Cuban government to be democratic if you are supporting a person who is against democracy?"
Insider could not immediately reach Estrada to talk to him directly.
Trump was expected to appear at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Federal Courthouse at 3 p.m. to face a 37-count indictment, including accusations of holding government documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in 2021.
He will appear alongside Waltine Nauda, his personal aide and a co-defendant in the case.
At events held over the weekend, Trump called the charges "ridiculous" and "baseless." He also told Politico that he would press ahead with his campaign even if he were to be convicted.
Miami braced for a chaotic day on Tuesday, as Trump's supporters and critics descended on the city.
A spokesperson for the Miami Police Department said that a "joint effort" of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies were charged with maintaining peace at the courthouse. The U.S. Secret Service is among them.
No arrests had been reported as of late morning.
The indictment in Florida was the former president's second in three months.
In April, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced charges accusing Trump of falsifying business records to conceal an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are investigating whether Trump illegally sought to pressure authorities in that state to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
A charging decision in that case could come in early August, the Washington Post reported.