Trump supporters pray over him at Versailles in Miami's Little Havana, sing him 'Happy Birthday'
MIAMI - After leaving the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in downtown Miami, former President Donald Trump stopped at the Versailles Restaurant on Tuesday afternoon in Miami's Little Havana.
Inside the crowded iconic Cuban food restaurant, the front-runner for the Republican 2024 nomination met with two Cuban-American Christian and Jewish religious leaders who took turns to pray over him. Rev. Mario Bramnick's prayer included a plea to keep Communism outside of the United States.
Former President Donald Trump stopped at Versailles in Miami's Little Havana on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 37 counts in federal court in downtown Miami.
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Trump, who faces 37 felony charges for the alleged mishandling of classified documents, posed for photos with UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal. He later turned to his supporters and said, "Food for everyone!" He greeted several of the attendees and delivered his first public statement after court.
"I think it's a rigged deal here. We have a rigged country. We have a country that's corrupt. We have a country that's got no borders. We have a country that's got nothing but problems. We're a nation in decline, and then they do this stuff, and you see where the people are," Trump said.
The crowd also sang him "Happy Birthday" since he turns 77 on Wednesday.
Trump had appeared before Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, and not U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed, for an arraignment hearing.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, a scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations.
Attorney Alina Habba, who is part of Trump's legal team, told reporters outside of the courthouse that today was not about "Trump, who is defiant. It is not about the Republican Party, it is not about the 2024 election. It is about the destruction of longstanding principles that have set this country apart."
Trump had announced the indictment on Thursday night on the Truth Social platform and referred to Special Counsel Jack Smith, who leads the case, as a "deranged lunatic," a "Trump hater" and a "psycho."
A federal grand jury indicted the 45th president of the United States on Friday. Smith, a U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointee, announced the indictment.
The document included photographs of the classified documents stored at The Mar-a-Lago Club in cardboard boxes near a toilet and shower in a bathroom, on the stage of a ballroom, in an office, in a bedroom, and in a storage room.
"I don't want anybody looking, I don't want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don't," Trump told one of his attorneys about the classified documents, according to the indictment. "I don't want you looking through my boxes!"
The National Archives and Records Administration had asked the U.S. Department of Justice for help to recover documents last year and this resulted in the May 2022 grand jury subpoena and the FBI raid in August.
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The content of some of the documents the FBI recovered included another country's "nuclear capabilities," U.S. "nuclear weaponry," and "military operations" against the U.S., according to the indictment.
The indictment alleged one of Trump's attorneys found 38 classified documents in the storage room, placed them in a folder, and closed it with duct tape. Some of the boxes also allegedly traveled from Mar-a-Lago and on a plane to be delivered to Trump's club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Former President Donald Trump, center, flanked by his defense attorneys, signs his bond in federal court, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Miami. Trump plead not guilty to federal charges that he illegally kept classified documents at his Florida estate. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) (Elizabeth Williams)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump, rally outside the Trump National Doral resort, Monday June 12, 2023 in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside Mar-A-Lago, Sunday, June 11, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)