Trump scheduled to visit California for speaking event
LOS ANGELES - Former President Donald Trump is returning to Southern California next month.
Trump will be in Costa Mesa on Sept. 30 as he is scheduled to speak at a ticketed fundraising event.
Tickets reportedly range between $1,000 and $23,200 per couple, but include a photo op with Trump at a VIP reception.
SUGGESTED:
- Donald Trump pleads not guilty, waives appearance in Georgia election interference case
- Trump trial set for March 4, 2024, in federal case charging him with plotting to overturn election
- Arraignment set for Trump, co-defendants in Georgia election interference case
The event comes a day after the California GOP's convention in Anaheim.
Several other Republican presidential hopefuls including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott will be speaking at the convention.
Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday and sought to sever his case from other defendants who are accused along with him of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set arraignment hearings for Trump and the 18 others charged in the case for Sept. 6. A court filing waiving arraignment means Trump won’t have to show up for that.
The decision to skip an in-person appearance averts the dramatic arraignments that have accompanied the three other criminal cases Trump faces, in which the Republican former president has been forced amid tight security into a courtroom and entered "not guilty" pleas before crowds of spectators. Georgia courts have fairly permissive rules on news cameras in the courtroom, and this step means Trump won’t have to enter a plea on television.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.