Trump rages ‘I am innocent’ & protesters flock to court as he faces hush money sentencing after Supreme Court ruling
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DONALD Trump has proclaimed his innocence ahead of his hush money case sentencing that will cement his status as the first felon to serve in the White House. Despite the president-elect's repeated efforts to dismiss the case, citing his Election Day victory and his right to presidential immunity, Judge Juan Merchan will impose sentencing on Friday.
![[Donald Trump pictured during closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in January 2024]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000935842600.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
President-elect Trump and his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, appeared together in the courtroom virtually from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump was seen on video wearing a red tie with white or gold diagonal strips, according to the Associated Press.
![[A Trump supporter wearing a black MAGA hat outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000962829733.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
A group of anti-Trump protesters as well supporters of the president-elect gathered outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of the sentencing. Pro-Trump demonstrators united to support the president-elect as one protester carried a large blue, red, and white "Trump Make America Great Again" banner.
![[Supporters of President-elect Trump gathered outside the Lower Manhattan courtroom ahead of his sentencing]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000962826794.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Trump proclaimed his innocence ahead of the proceeding, blasting the sentencing as a "weaponization of the justice system against a political opponent.". The president-elect and his legal team filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a final ditch effort to prevent the sentencing from moving forward as scheduled.
![[Anti-Trump demonstrators protest outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing of the president-elect]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000962829233.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
However, in a surprising 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court denied Trump's bid, arguing that the sentencing that would be imposed on the president-elect's responsibilities is "relatively insubstantial.". The majority included conservative judges Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Amy Coney Barrett, who sided with their liberal counterparts, Justices Sona Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
![[A sketch photo of porn star Stormy Daniels testifying during Trump's hush money trial]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000930656968.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
