Trump after arraignment: This is a very sad day for America

[August 04, 2023]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump said after his arraignment on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election that it was a "very sad day for America."  

"This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America," Trump said before boarding his plane to return to New Jersey after the court hearing.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is to appear in a federal court facing federal charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, arrives at Reagan Washington National Airport in nearby Arlington, Virginia, U.S., August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades

Trump himself has been accused of using government power for political gain. Republican Trump's first of two impeachments, in 2019, was for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Senate Republicans acquitted him of those charges.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Rami Ayyub)

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