Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on charges related to payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment, which remains under seal, marks the first time a former US president has faced criminal charges.

Prosecutors stated that they were working to coordinate Trump’s surrender, which could occur early next week. However, they did not specify whether they plan to seek prison time in the event of a conviction, which would not prevent Trump from seeking and assuming the presidency.

The indictment injects a local district attorney’s office into the national presidential race and brings criminal proceedings in a city that the former president called home for decades. The charges arrive at a time of deep political divisions, likely reinforcing existing perspectives of those who believe accountability is overdue and those who believe Trump is being targeted for political purposes by a Democratic prosecutor.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly attacked the investigation, calling the indictment “political persecution” and predicting it would damage Democrats in 2024. In a statement, his defense lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said that Trump "did not commit any crime" and that they would "vigorously fight this political prosecution in court."