Was Donald Trump arrested in March 2023?

Claim:

On March 21, 2023, former US President Donald Trump was arrested on suspicion of his alleged involvement in paying hush money on his behalf.

Evaluation:

TO UPDATE: on March 30, 2023, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Pressand other reliable sources reported that a Manhattan grand jury has indicted former US President Donald Trump for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels, with whom he was allegedly having an affair.

After former US President Donald Trump said he was preparing to be arrested on March 21, 2023, images were fabricated that are said to show him trying escape prosecutionOfficers taking him into custody, or his social media filled with mugshots as well posts stated that he had been charged.

These rumors were wrong; Some of the posts were intended as satire. As of this writing (midday EDT March 21), Trump had not been arrested; rather, “he was waiting in Florida” The Associated Press reported, and it was unknown if a Manhattan grand jury would indict him for his alleged involvement in hush money payments to pornographic actor Stormy Daniels in 2016.

A March 18 Truth Social Post Trump fueled the rumors by claiming without evidence that he “will be arrested next Tuesday” and urging supporters to protest his fate. Here is a screenshot of that post:

It was unclear why or what motivated the former President to make this statement; a Trump spokesman said Reuters he had not been informed of an arrest. Citing unnamed senior officials, NBC News reports The day before, the law enforcement authorities were preparing for a possible indictment “already next week”.

The Manhattan District Attorney is investigating possible crimes committed with a $130,000 payment to Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to keep her from speaking out about a sexual encounter she had with the former president years ago, as reported by the AP.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team appears to be investigating whether Trump or anyone else in New York State committed crimes when he arranged the payments or how they settled them internally at the Trump Organization. […]

[There] There was no public announcement of a timeframe for the grand jury’s secret work.

Should the grand jury decide to indict him, Trump would become the first president to be prosecuted in US history.

Sources