The Trump trial is the latest must-see attraction for tourists in New York: Courtroom 1530 is the new ‘room where it happens’ for visitors after Hamilton and the Statue of Liberty
They checked off Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and saw Hamilton on Broadway.
Now the visitors from Australia are going to the public gallery of the Donald Trump trial in the Manhattan Criminal Court.
“We woke up this morning and said we had to be in ‘the room where it happens,’” Marney said, interrupting Hamilton’s hit, quickly followed by a fit of laughter.
Across the street is the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial.
He has denied 34 charges of falsifying company records.
But a seemingly mundane case involving ledgers and checks has become the hottest ticket in town, already enlivened by the testimony of America’s gossip king and a famous lawyer who won payouts from Charlie Sheen.
Susan Koch (l) and Marianne Fortunato got up at 3 a.m. to make sure they had a good spot at the head of the line for public courtroom seating to watch Donald Trump’s hush money trial
Those who arrived early enough were given a yellow ticket on Thursday that guaranteed entry
Stormy Daniels will almost certainly make an appearance.
And for the lucky few who get in line early enough to get one of the golden tickets (well, the yellow card with the New York State Unified Court System logo) there’s a chance to be in the same room to be the first former president to ever face criminal pursuits.
Marney and her friend (who refuse to give their full names because someone works in the Australian legal system) are too far back in the queue. Their destination is the overflow room, 1523, where the proceedings are shown via video feed.
“It’s history,” Marney said. “If convicted, he would be the first president to be convicted. If he is acquitted, he might win. Anyway …’
It’s only half past seven on a dull New York morning, but there are more than 25 people in line, next to the line for journalists who get to take the seats first.
Among the reporters is Andrew Weissmann, former Mueller investigator and now talking head of MSNBC.
He has to fend off questions and selfies from perhaps the nerdiest line at a tourist attraction in the city.
He points out how dilapidated the courthouse looks: “You can see that in those old air conditioners.”
The first in line will have the opportunity to take a seat in courtroom 1530, on the benches behind Trump
Visitors were able to see for themselves scenes only otherwise published in sketch artists, as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and defense attorney Emil Bove clashed
But this isn’t like coming to a Broadway show. The facilities in the boring courthouse are in need of renovation, to say the least
A supporter of former President Donald Trump stands outside the Manhattan criminal court building where his hush money trial is taking place
No central air here. The windows are lined with old-fashioned box coolers.
Ask him about the cafeteria on the ground floor and his nose wrinkles in fear.
This ticket is a lot cheaper than Broadway (well, it’s free). And the facilities match the price.
The small park next to the line is reserved for protesters, but it is empty until a bearded man dressed in black arrives, ringing a bell under his elbow.
He waves a crucifix in front of him and looks for all the world around, as if blessing the rumpled ranks of camera crews and reporters tasked with broadcasting from the front of the courthouse.
Ten minutes later a woman from France is in line. She talks to a man from Colorado who is in town for a funeral but found time to finish visiting Hamilton on Wednesday and Trump on Thursday.
By 7.25am the line was already 25 strong, growing longer as the gray morning progressed
Lucky ticket holders ride the elevator to the 15th floor, where a pen has been set up for Trump to address the assembled media before and after court hearings
At the start of the trial, media wrapped themselves in blankets to protect themselves from the cold as they waited in line to take their seats in the courtroom
Marianne Fortunato left her home in New Jersey at 3 a.m. to make sure she and her cousin had a good spot.
“I’m from Virginia,” says Susan Koch, a 68-year-old photographer.
‘I studied history. So I want to see history live in action.
“And I also hope that the ‘former man’ gets his justice.”
They arrived at 5am, early enough to claim positions two and three in line.
Most days, the first six in line can reach courtroom 1530, where they can breathe the same air as the former president and look at the back of his head for any sign of gentle snoring.
“I’m very interested in seeing the jury since they are masked,” Fortunato said.
“I think it’ll be interesting just watching their reactions and reading their body language.”
A Trump supporter walks along the line, wearing a 2024 campaign flag.
She hands out leaflets that end with the sentence: ‘Wake up people! FJB!’
What would otherwise be a boring financial fraud case has been enlivened by Trump stardust. Last week, David Pecker, the king of tabloids, described the inner workings of the National Enquirer
And there were giggles in the courtroom when the jury was shown cartoons shared by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen of Trump in an orange jumpsuit
Next to her, a courtroom lawyer has come to watch the drama on his day off. He declines to give his name for fear of professional ridicule, but says he is returning after hearing testimony from David Pecker, the former editor of the National Enquirer, last week.
“That was something else,” he says, smiling at the way Pecker explained the dark arts of buying celebrity stories and massaging the truth.
‘I’m not talking about the procedural aspects or the charges.
“It was just riveting in itself to hear all of this. I just think it would be a service to the world and the country if people heard it.
“You can’t summarize it and convey this distorted reality.”
Just after eight o’clock in the morning the cards were handed out and the lucky few dozen people were escorted across the road to the courthouse.