Judge bans electronic devices for media at Trump arraignment courthouse

In an interview with NBC News' Tom Llamas, Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez said the city is ready for any level of protests or demonstrations around Trump's arraignment tomorrow.

"We are prepared," Suarez, a Republican who has teased a 2024 presidential bid, said on "Top Story."

Suarez did not dispute Miami Police Chief Manny Morales' remarks today that the city is bringing in enough resources to handle crowds from 5,000 to 50,000.

"The numbers that he put out there are numbers that indicate our readiness, right?" Suarez said. "It could be, you know, 1,000 people; it could be 5,000 people. But we're ready for anything upwards of beyond that and at scale."

A federal judge tonight said members of the media will be prohibited from taking cellphones or other electronic devices into the courthouse where Trump is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow afternoon.

"All cellular phones and/or electronic equipment are hereby prohibited for news reporters and other members of the media inside the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse in Miami," Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga wrote in a court order.

Separately, Magistrate Judge John Goodman rejected a request from a media coalition that includes NBC News to allow a "limited number of photographs and video-recordings in the courtroom and/or the outside corridor before tomorrow’s proceedings begin." He said "allowing photographs would undermine the massive security arrangements put in place" for the hearing.

Goodman will preside over the arraignment, and U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon will oversee the subsequent trial.

GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie tonight blasted other White House hopefuls in the Republican Party, saying they are "playing games" by not speaking out against Trump after his federal indictment.

“People in my own party are blaming DOJ. How about blame him?” Christie, the former New Jersey governor, said during a CNN town hall.

Trump's opponents for the Republican nomination have largely focused their attacks on the Justice Department, not the former president, since he was indicted.

While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has yet to comment on the charges against Trump, two other members of Republican leadership in the chamber weighed in today, calling the allegations "serious."

“You’re talking about national security secrets, classified information and, you know, a very detailed indictment. So they’re serious allegations,” said John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate.

As other congressional Republicans have done, Thune also suggested there was a double standard in the eyes of the Justice Department when it comes to Democrats and Republicans. The "Justice Department has a high burden of proof here, because I think there’s perception across the country that in some cases there are different standards of justice that are applied. And the standard should be that nobody’s above the law,” he said.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., told reporters that she thinks Trump "should be concerned," adding, "I mean, any time you get indicted, it’s concerning.”

She said she was unsure how the charges would affect Trump's presidential bid, because there's a belief that "he’s been targeted and it has been unfair justice, and I think there’s some cases to be made for that." As for his chances in the general election if he's the GOP nominee, she said: "I think that it’s a pretty steep hill to climb. I’m not saying it would be impossible for him. But ... I think it's serious."

Asked how his mood was ahead of tomorrow's court appearance, Trump told Boston radio host Howie Carr, "It's fine."

During the 12-minute interview on WRKO's "The Howie Carr Show," Trump repeated his denials of any wrongdoing.

When Carr asked Trump whether he planned to say anything in court besides entering his plea, Trump said: "I'll just say 'not guilty.' I didn't do anything wrong."

Advance Democracy Inc., an organization that tracks online threats, said today that it had not found signs that large-scale violence was being organized ahead of Trump's arraignment.

But the group did say supporters were expressing a willingness online to engage in violence.

The group found that users on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Trump, were using "extreme, threatening, and violent language directed at Special Counsel Jack Smith and FBI Director Christopher Wray."

The group also said some users of the messaging app Telegram and the Patriots.win website were expressing a "willingness to engage in violence relating to Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday."

Attorney Todd Blanche, who Trump has said will represent him in the classified documents case, flew with Trump to Miami, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Blanche, who is based in New York City, will represent Trump tomorrow at his initial appearance.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., says he is “concerned” that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has been assigned to the federal case against Trump.

“I am concerned,” Durbin told reporters today. “I mean, she was a Trump appointee, she was overruled by the appellate court in one of her earlier rulings, she’s back in charge of this case — again, this is an historic case.”

Durbin said he’s not ready “at this point” to call on Cannon to recuse herself, saying, “That really is up to her at this point, if she feels that she should.”

Durbin said his concern is how Cannon's rulings on motions could delay the case unnecessarily.

“It may be in the best interest of one of the parties to the case to stretch it out forever,” Durbin said. “We have investigations underway in Chicago that have been going on for months and years. So timing is one of the most important things and ruling on motions and discovery and the like, you know, really how you build your case. So I hope that she’s up to the job and does it right.”