No Cameras Allowed in Courtroom for Trump Arraignment

A motion by a coalition of media outlets aimed at allowing cameras inside the federal courthouse in Miami, for the arraignment of former President Donald Trump has been denied by a federal magistrate.

The press coalition, which includes The New York Times, NBC News, The Associated Press, and others had maintained the court appearance by Trump is a “special proceeding” and should be permitted.

But late Monday, Magistrate Jonathan Goodman rejected the argument and said regular rules on recording in federal courtrooms would be followed, the Washington Examiner said.

Goodman citied rule 77.1 for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as a basis not to allow photography. The rule permits exceptions for “special proceedings” or “following a declaration of a local, state, or national emergency.”

“The ‘special proceedings’ term referenced in the Local Rule is analogized to a proceeding akin to a naturalization proceeding,” Goodman wrote: “Tomorrow’s proceedings are undoubtedly ‘special’ in that they are genuinely historic and of huge importance, but they are not in any way similar to a naturalization proceeding.

“The motion does not cite any case or legal authority which would support the view that photographs are permitted tomorrow [Tuesday] because the first appearance and arraignment are ‘special proceedings,’ as that term is used in the rule.”

Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Trump on Friday that accuses the former president of risking some of the country’s most sensitive security secrets with his handling of unclassified documents after leaving the White House in 2021, Reuters noted.

Trump is due to make a first court appearance in the case in a Miami court on Tuesday, a day before his 77th birthday.