Donald Trump received a standing ovation as he arrived at UFC 302 in New Jersey – just days after becoming a convicted felon.
The president’s 34 convictions did nothing to dampen the excitement of about 17,000 fans at the Prudential Center in Newark, who stood up in excitement as the guest of honor entered the arena Saturday evening.
Trump, who served as US president from 2017 to 2020, was convicted on Thursday of 34 charges of falsifying company records as a jury reached a verdict in his hush money trial.
And he was spotted at Newark’s Prudential Center on Saturday around 10pm ET with UFC boss Dana White.
According to Mail Sport, he received a loud ovation when he entered the arena Leocciano Callao.
Chants of “USA, USA!” erupted after Trump followed the entrance of fighter Sean Strickland.
The jury in Trump’s trial found that he illegally influenced the 2016 election by concealing a $130,000 hush money payment from porn star Stormy Daniels — who claims he had a consensual sexual encounter a decade earlier (Trump has denied that ).
Each charge carries a possible maximum penalty of up to four years in prison.
Trump will be sentenced on July 11, although it is unlikely there will be any prison time.
He is the first president in US history to be convicted of a crime and has spoken out against the “rigged” trial, which he said was politically motivated, as his 2024 re-election campaign gathers pace.
Trump raised as much as $52 million in donations for his White House campaign in the 24 hours after the guilty verdicts, suggesting many of his supporters agree his convictions were unfair.
He faces three other criminal charges for mishandling classified documents, trying to influence the outcome of the 2020 election and inciting the Jan. 6 riots.
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