Donald Trump is the first former president of the United States to be arrested.

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump turned himself in at a local court, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested after leaving office.

He is in trouble because he allegedly paid a pornstar to keep quiet.

Once booked, he awaited to be brought before Acting Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan of New York State to be formally charged, just like any other criminal suspect.

Oddly, he was arrested in the presence of the Secret Service, whose job is to safeguard ex-presidents like him.

While his supporters and opponents held separate rallies, Trump rode in a convoy from his Trump Tower penthouse four miles to the building housing the local courts.

A back door was used to admit him. With Trump's arrest and subsequent trial, the United States entered an unknown legal and political territory. No former President had ever been arrested and brought to trial in the country's 246-year history.

He's also running for president in 2020, where he's currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination and trails incumbent Democrat Joe Biden by just 2% in RealClearPolitics' average of polls.

Trump is being investigated for a hush money payment he allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with him in 2006, through his former lawyer Michael Cohen, shortly before the 2016 election.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty in a federal court on corruption charges related to the $130,000 bribes. The government decided against prosecuting Trump.

In the New York case, Cohen is the star witness.

The grand jury indictment is under seal until it is unsealed in court. A grand jury is a group of citizens convened to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to proceed with formal charges.

Since hush money payments and extramarital affairs are not illegal per se, any charges will likely revolve around accounting irregularities or a possible violation of campaign finance laws.

The media has reported leaks that say Trump faces over two dozen charges, some of which are felonies carrying a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

When the indictment was still under seal, Trump publicly requested that Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg file charges against him.

Trump's legal team has already stated that their client will vigorously defend him at the upcoming trial.

After Trump is brought before Merchan, whom Trump had previously said, “He hates me,” the prosecutor, Bragg, a Democrat elected in a partisan election, will hold a news conference in the afternoon.

After his arraignment, Trump plans to return to his private Boeing 757 and hold a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The city was wrapped in tight security, and the police were highly alert.

Steel barriers and police buses surrounded Trump Tower and the courthouses.

Police officers stood between yelling protesters insulting each other across a barrier.

Trump's comments about "potential death and destruction" came after Thursday's indictment announcement.

Right-wing Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, known for her extreme rhetoric, organised the protest outside the courthouse, prompting Mayor Eric Adams to warn her, "When you're in town, be on your best behaviour."

Anti-Trump protesters interrupted Greene's speech.

The demonstrations thus far have had a funfair atmosphere, with one semi-naked anti-Trump protester even dancing while yelling obscene challenges at the president.

Trump supporters who believed his claims that President Biden had "stolen" the election rioted and attacked Congress in January 2021.