Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan court; the former US president claimed the US was "going to hell" in his address to supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The charges against Trump have only galvanised his supporters
By Martha Kelner, US correspondent, in Palm Beach
For Donald Trump’s most entrenched supporters this indictment is simply another cause to rally around.
They gather on one side of the bridge which links the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate with Palm Beach, eagerly awaiting the passing of his motorcade on the way to the airport.
Some wave Trump 2024 flags, others hold signs saying, “Impeach Joe Biden” and one lady has “Trump” written in diamanté stickers on her bottom.
If anything, these charges have galvanised Trump’s base, which believes this is a politically motivated pursuit.
They call the District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who has secured this indictment, an “evil traitor,” following the lead of Trump himself, who refers to him as a “degenerate psychopath.”
Bob Kunst, from Miami Beach, has brought his deck chair and waves at passing cars beeping in support. He says he is a registered democrat voter but believes Trump is being persecuted.
“It’s like a new revolution is taking place”, he tells me.
“The problem here is the public at large, whether they like Trump or not, realises what the Democrats are doing.
"They’re weaponising the justice system, which could hurt everybody. It’s going to backfire big time.”
Polling suggests views like Mr Kunst’s are mirrored across the Republican voting spectrum, where Trump’s advantage over other potential candidates is widening.
Ryan Williams, a Republican strategist who worked with Mitt Romney for 10 years, says these criminal charges help Trump, politically.
“Charges facing Donald Trump do not dissuade Republican primary voters at all,” he says, “they rally his cause. There's a very small sliver of the Republican Party that see Trump as problematic or is troubled by these charges.
"But they already weren't supporting Donald Trump anyways, so it's really irrelevant. It doesn't affect his standing with Republicans and actually it helps him.”
Trump's 2024 election campaign 'raises $10m since indictment'
Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign has apparently raised $10m since his indictment five days ago, one of his senior advisers has seemingly confirmed.
Jason Miller, who has worked on both of the 76-year-old's previous election campaigns, shared an article which quoted the enormous sum to Reuters news agency.
It comes after Mr Miller announced the campaign had raised more than $8m yesterday, with $1.1m gathered on Monday alone.
Earlier today, the former deputy chief of mission to the US embassy in London said Trump will "milk" his legal battle "for everything he can", raising money and rallying supporters. Trump needs to 'shut up' and be 'more prudent', says former prosecutor