Tighe Barry, in costume, Medea Benjamin, and other activists outside the courthouse. Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post
WASHINGTON – One man brought a sign that said “Loser” and a box of golden Oreos as fuel for the day. Another brought a 5-by-3 foot flag that said “Trump or Death.” The two men sat far apart, each hoping to decorate the grounds of the E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse with their version of the truth.
That was how this balmy morning in Washington began, dueling versions of America captured by scores of journalists, all waiting for the former president to show up blocks away from where he directed an angry mob three years ago, at the courthouse where so many of his supporters have stood trial, to enter a plea to historic charges.
Both men were celebrating. Tim Smith, a 38-year-old from Pennsylvania, for what he described as the beginning of the end of Trump. Dion Cini, a 54-year-old from New York, for what he said was an injustice sure to boost Trump at least five points in the polls.
“This is a good day for us,” Cini said in front of the courthouse.
“It’s an absolutely necessary day,” Smith said, sitting on its west side.
Trump arrived at the courthouse shortly after 3 p.m., was transported by the Secret Service, just like when he was president, and entered through an underground garage. Inside, he was arraigned before a U.S. magistrate judge, like the hundreds of other people charged so far in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The day was almost without precedent at the D.C. courthouse, where a line of journalists and others waited overnight for a spot inside, and some media organizations set up gazebo-style tents. In the indictment, special counsel Jack Smith made the case that Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 election – charging him with four criminal counts that stemmed from multiple alleged conspiracies.
The hearing would unfold inside a small courtroom, kicking off what will be a legal grind that will take months, at a minimum. The substance of the proceeding was predictable: This is Trump’s third criminal indictment and the second criminal case brought against him by the special counsel’s team.
But in D.C., which still bears the scars of the Jan. 6 riot, it felt important. And like many political and legal spectacles, it drew a crowd – albeit one that was not particularly raucous, and far outnumbered by members of the press.
The E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse on Thursday. Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post
U.S. court officials opened more overflow rooms to provide public access to the hearings than appeared to be needed as of about 3 p.m., surprising some court observers who expected greater attendance.
Of those who showed up on Constitution Avenue on Thursday morning, one person dressed in a blowup costume of Trump and screamed, “I don’t want to go to jail. Where’s my mommy? Where’s Melania?” A man, who said he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, taped a sign to his green scooter that said: “STOP BRAIN WASH.” One group held a sign that spelled out “JUSTICE.” Another group held posters that read “Blacks for Trump.”
Domenic Santana, a 61-year-old New Yorker who now lives in Miami, stood in John Marshall Park in a striped jail costume and cap, a handcuff dangling from his left wrist. He held a huge sign bearing the mug shot of an older man gone completely bald.
“This is Trump!” he said as if it were obvious. “It’s AI. This is hopefully what he’ll look like when he gets out of jail.”
With two hours left until Trump arrives at this courthouse, officers with the Department of Homeland Security and the D.C. police chatted among themselves in small groups. At one point, Park Police on horses trotted through a grassy field just west of the courthouse.
Two blocks in any direction of the courthouse, life in D.C. was proceeding at its normal, leisurely August pace: office workers strolling to lunch; tourists in short pants staring at Google Maps, their children traipsing beside them with backpacks; construction crews digging holes in the streets; cabbies weaving through light summer traffic.
A Trump supporter drives past the courthouse. Bonnie Jo Mount /The Washington Post
For his part, Smith – the anti-Trump demonstrator, not the special counsel – remained seated behind the “LOSER” sign, joined now by the inflatable version of Trump. On the back of his poster board, he sketched the top of the courthouse. It was the latest addition to a collage of Trump-related history he’d witnessed over the last number of years. The Capitol building while members of Congress elected Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker. A hotel in Pennsylvania, where Trump’s legal team descended to question the integrity of the 2020 election.
“I’ll feel way better when he’s behind bars,” he said, sketching lightly on the board. “That’s when I’ll be at ease.”
Meanwhile, Cini shoved through a crowd of reporters, who now packed Constitution Avenue, to see three men standing with Trump flags. His view was obstructed by other demonstrators, who held their signs criticizing Trump.
Cini held up his phone and began snapping pictures. He zoomed in until the “Trump Is A Traitor” sign faded from his screen and only the “TRUMP 2024” flag remained.
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