Donald Trump's Arrest Will Not Go Down Like You Think

Donald Trump is set to become the first serving or former U.S. president to be charged with a crime after a New York grand jury voted to indict him as part of the Stormy Daniels hush money investigation.

Trump is now expected to surrender to authorities for his arraignment at the Manhattan Criminal Court in the coming days, with reports his arrest may occur on Tuesday. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in connection with the investigation.

While Trump will likely face the standard processing procedure once he is taken into custody—such as getting fingerprinted and having his mugshot taken—there may be some slight deviations as authorities prepare for the unprecedented arrest of a one-time commander in chief.

For a start, it is unlikely that Trump will be made to take part in a so-called perp walk outside the Manhattan court in front of the world's press over fears of the potential for violent protests, or the possibility that the former president could face danger.

It is also highly unlikely Trump will be placed in handcuffs while he is being taken into custody.

Trump is not accused of violent crimes that would warrant his hands being cuffed behind his back. While defendants in white collar crimes are often placed in cuffs with their hands in front of them, it is likely that an exception will be made for a former U.S. president who has surrendered and will be flanked by armed Secret Service agents.

Officials may also be wary of the optics of a former president being seen in handcuffs, especially a political figure as divisive as Trump, who had already called on his supporters to protest on March 21 over his apparent upcoming arrest.

Once he is arraigned in New York, Trump will appear before a judge to enter a plea, though this may not occur in open court.

Newsweek has contacted Trump's lawyers for comment via email.

Given the level of offenses Trump is accused of, it is also highly unlikely that that former president will be remanded in custody once he is charged.

"I don't see any way that the judge will order Trump to remain in jail. Trump will almost certainly be released on his own recognizance," criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter told Newsweek.

"Aside from the political implications of keeping a former president in jail, he's not facing a charge for a crime of violence and it's hard to argue Trump is a flight risk," he said.

In the unlikely event that the former president refuses to surrender, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have to approve Trump's extradition to New York.

DeSantis, who is thought to be the biggest challenger to Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, has already said that his state "will not assist in an extradition request," and suggested the former president is the victim of the "weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda."

However, DeSantis would have few options other than to approve a request from New York as federal law says states are required to comply with other states' extradition requests.

"DeSantis, as governor of Florida, has the authority to tell the state troopers what to do and what not to do, but a warrant is executed and enforced in a courthouse, not at the governor's mansion," Ambrosio Rodriguez, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor at California's Riverside County District Attorney's Office told Newsweek.

"DeSantis could order any state police officer not to apprehend Trump, but the issuance and enforcement of the warrant happens in a court of law, and in this case, local police in Florida could easily carry out the arrest of Trump without any involvement by state troopers," he said.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Thursday that it had contacted the former president's lawyers to "coordinate his surrender" on the indictment.

In a statement shortly after reports of his indictment emerged, Trump accused the investigation into him of being "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

"Never before in our Nation's history has this been done," he said. "The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party—united and strong—will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"