Trump supporters cheer wildly as he arrives at Miami courthouse, while others protest

Those gathered outside did not interact with Trump, who rode in an SUV as part of a motorcade that entered the courthouse garage for his hearing on felony charges. Still, some sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who will turn 77 on Wednesday.

The international attention and growing crowds were another sign of the extraordinary nature of the event and the person at the center of it. A criminal defendant like no other, Trump is the first former president to appear before a federal judge on criminal charges. He also is leading the Republican field for the 2024 presidential nomination, and has so far held his status as frontrunner even as he has faced other legal troubles.

Security was tight. A yellow-tape police line and about a half-dozen federal police vehicles formed a barricade, keeping people from a palm tree-lined breezeway and the public entrance to the modern, largely glass Wilkie D. Ferguson federal courthouse. A police helicopter passed overhead at times, and about two dozen Miami police officers circled the building’s perimeter on bicycles.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who stopped by the courthouse Tuesday, has said the city is ready to handle any protests that occur, and that local law enforcement has experience handling large demonstrations.

The scene included what is now a staple of a Trump appearance or rally. People selling T-shirts with Trump’s face in a mock mugshot, with large letters reading “NOT GUILTY,” others hawking hats, but also, fitting for Miami, mangoes.

As people awaited Trump’s arrival, some waved Trump 2024 flags, supporting his bid for president. Another man, who opposes Trump, dressed in black-and-white prison stripes and held a sign reading “LOCK HIM UP.” At times, people shouted past each other, and small groups of pro-Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters squabbled, occasionally yelling obscenities at each other.

Dominic Santana, who showed up in the jailhouse uniform complete with handcuffs and a plastic ball and chain, said he “wanted to join the circus.”

Santana came to the U.S. as a child from Cuba and retired in Miami after decades operating an eatery in the New York area. The 61-year-old considers himself a political independent and says his mother and daughter voted for Trump.

“A fellow New Yorker can spot a rat a mile away,” he said. “Frankly, he should’ve been locked up ages ago.”

Among those who arrived early were the father-son duo of Florencio and Kevin Rodriguez, who came to the U.S. fifteen years ago as asylum seekers fleeing dictatorship in Cuba.

Wearing a shirt that reads “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president,” the younger Rodriguez, Kevin, said it is possible that Trump is guilty of illegally retaining classified documents.

But he questioned the fairness of the proceedings in light of what he said was prosecutors’ lax attitude toward President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — both of whom have also been accused of mishandling classified intelligence albeit without any intention of hiding their actions.

“Even if he’s guilty, we will still support him,” Rodriguez said.

Madelin Munilla, 67, who came to Miami a child when her parents fled Fidel Castro’s revolution in Cuba, carried a sign with a photo of Biden alongside other leaders such as Castro, comparing the U.S. president with those who had their opposition put in jail.

“This is what they do in Latin America,” she said.

Others came to counter the Trump supporters. Jack Kaplan, 68, drove two hours from Ft Pierce. Toting a copy of the indictment affixed to a clipboard and a sign reading “Trump is Toast,” the retired car dealer said he’ll celebrate with a $1,400 bottle of Mouton Rothschild red wine if the former president is locked away.

“I’ve already got the bottle sitting in my wine cooler,” said Kaplan as a Trump supporter carrying a sign reading “Keep America Great” walked by. “I’m going to have a big party.”

More Trump supporters were on their way. In a Walmart parking lot in Orlando, about four dozen people dressed in red, white and blue clothing — some wearing T-shirts that said “Donald Trump Did Nothing Wrong” — boarded two buses for the four-hour trip to Miami. They planned to show their support for the former president outside the federal courthouse.

“He has done so much for us. This is what we can do for him. This is what we must do for him,” said Laurie Pettengill, who drove halfway across the state from Homosassa Springs on Florida’s Gulf Coast to go on the trip.

The trip, which was organized by a group called the Florida Republican Assembly, originally had been planned to accommodate four busloads of people.

As the Trump supporters boarded the buses, a lone woman, Danette Chialtas, shouted at them, calling them traitors for supporting Trump.

“He’s being tried on espionage charges, and they are enabling it,” Chialtas said, pointing to the buses.