June 13 (UPI) — The judge presiding over Donald Trump‘s arraignment Tuesday on federal charges denied a request to allow cameras inside the Miami courtroom.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman also denied a request to release same-day audio recordings of the proceedings involving the former president.
Cameras are typically prohibited in federal criminal proceedings and in and around the courthouse and reporters are not allowed to enter with phones or other recording devices.
The request was filed by a coalition of 26 local and national media organizations.
Goodman did not rule out the possibility of that policy changing as Trump’s trial gets underway on 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Fla., resort.
“I follow the ‘stay in your lane’ philosophy. My involvement in this case will almost certainly end tomorrow. I am handling tomorrow’s first appearance and arraignment only because of my status as duty magistrate judge in the Miami Division of this Court,” Goodman wrote in his four-page ruling Monday.
“I am not the magistrate judge paired with United States District Judge Aileen M. Cannon and it is highly unlikely that I will be asked to remain involved. So I do not feel it is appropriate for me to rule on what happens in future proceedings when I am not the district court judge and when I will have no involvement whatsoever.”
Trump arrived in Miami on Monday. He is scheduled to appear in court beginning at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday amid heightened security in the federal courthouse.
At about 1:30 EDT, the former president left Mar-a-Lago for the 20-minute drive to the courthouse.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Monday police were preparing for potential crowds of up to 60,000 people.
Trump’s motorcade will use an underground tunnel to get into the downtown courthouse.
He is expected to then be processed and fingerprinted before appearing in the courtroom.
Trump is expected to fly back to New Jersey Tuesday after entering a plea.
The former president and an aide are both charged in the indictment after more than 100 top secret papers were seized during a search of Mar-a-Lago in August.
