Donald Trump Surrenders Himself In Historic Arrest (But Not Without Getting The Last Word In)

Donald Trump is under arrest after surrendering at the district attorney's office in New York City on April 4, TMZ confirmed. This bombshell arrest makes Trump the first president to be arrested on serious criminal charges in U.S. history. 

This news comes after a grand jury voted to indict him on March 30, though the charges were originally kept under wraps (per CNN). "This is an attack on our country the likes of which has never been seen before," Trump said in response to the grand jury vote via Truth Social. Though his timing was a bit off, the 45th president of the United States ultimately predicted his fate on March 18 in a previous announcement on his controversial social media platform.

Trump's charges concern the $130,000 hush payment made to Stormy Daniels in 2016. Daniels swore under oath that she was given the cash in return for signing an NDA gagging her from discussing her alleged affair with Trump in 2006 ahead of the election. He has vehemently denied the affair and accusations that he instigated the payment, despite his attorney, Michael Cohen, testifying otherwise during his grand jury appearance on March 15. Before heading into the courthouse, Trump of course had something to say about his arrest.

Donald Trump surrendered himself into custody at the district attorney's office ahead of his arraignment hearing on April 4. Before heading into the courthouse, Trump wrote that the experience seemed "surreal" on Truth Social, adding, "WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can't believe this is happening in America. MAGA!"

Given Trump's unique arrest circumstances, little is known about whether he will be afforded special treatment. However, he will have to go through the normal booking process, including fingerprinting, just like everybody else. 

In true Trump fashion, he wasn't going down without sounding off. After announcing his then-pending detention, Trump made an impassioned rallying cry to his loyal followers on March 18. "Protest, take our nation back!" he wrote on Truth Social. It appeared some famous faces followed him up on his call to action, as fellow controversial Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos joined his swaths of supporters in the streets of NYC ahead of Trump's arraignment. These charges are only the tip of the iceberg in the laundry list of Trump's scandals, as the former president is the subject of multiple ongoing criminal investigations, including one for inciting the violence that occurred during the January 6 Capitol riots.