Donald Trump, who just over two years ago sat atop the United States executive branch as the 45th president, has been formally charged with 34 felonies relating to falsifying business records around hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges during an appearance in the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Mr Trump raised a fist in defiance as he arrived at the courthouse amid a heavy security presence from the NYPD and Secret Service after rival sets of protesters had earlier clashed outside court.
However once inside the courtroom, Mr Trump cut a deflated figure as he appeared before New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan for a formal arraignment.
The ex-president surrendered to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg upon arrival at the court at 1.24pm. He was arrested and fingerprinted in a room on the 7th floor of the courthouse building.
He avoided the ignominy of being handcuffed and paraded before cameras, or having his mugshot taken.
Mr Trump was then taken to a courtroom on the 15th floor of the Manhattan Criminal Court. Photographers allowed into court by Judge Merchan snapped images of the forlorn-looking former president, flanked by members of his defence legal team including Boris Epshteyn.
Mr Trump left the courthouse just before 3.30pm without speaking to reporters and began his journey back to Mar-a-Lago, where he promised to make a statement on Tuesday evening.
