Trump Reacts to Arraignment With Attack on D.C.'s 'Decay'

Former President Donald Trump has denounced the "decay" of Washington, D.C., after being arraigned in the nation's capital on criminal charges.

Trump appeared in person at the Elijah Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all four felony counts tied to attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that followed.

The former president was indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; conspiracy against rights; and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.

Following the hearing, Trump briefly addressed reporters at Ronald Reagan National Airport. He lamented his "persecution," touted his 2024 campaign and said that the nation's capital had become a wasteland of "filth" and "decay" since he left office in January 2021.

"This is a very sad day for America," said Trump. "And it was also very sad driving through Washington, D.C., and seeing the filth and the decay, and all of the broken buildings and walls, and the graffiti. This is not the place that I left. It's a very sad thing to see it."

"This is a persecution of a political opponent," he continued. "This is the persecution of the person that's leading by very, very substantial numbers ... If you can't beat him, you persecute him or you prosecute him. We can't let this happen in America."

Trump abruptly ended his remarks and refused to take any questions before boarding "Trump Force One" and departing the D.C. area.

Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump's office and the office of Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, D.C., via email on Thursday evening.

Just after Trump's motorcade left the courthouse on Thursday, a fundraising email purporting to be from the ex-president's son, Eric Trump, urged supporters to donate in light of the arraignment, according to the Associated Press.

In addition to Trump's January 6 charges, Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations of the ex-president led to the former president being charged with 40 felony counts related to his post-presidency retention of classified documents. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump also entered not guilty pleas in April after being charged with 34 state felonies in the falsification of business records in New York.

The former president, who could face a sentence of hundreds of years in prison, has claimed that all of his legal troubles are part of a politically motivated "witch hunt" and "election interference."

The legal team representing Trump in the D.C. case are expected in appear back in court for a hearing on August 28, although the former president was told on Thursday that he would not be required to attend the first hearing.