Trump's rivals for the GOP nomination for president in 2024 condemned what they call a political prosecution.

His campaign plans a Tuesday evening speech at Mar-a-Lago after court hearing.

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts Tuesday in New York, a historic moment as the first former president ever to face criminal charges and a dramatic backdrop for the 2024 presidential race as he campaigns again for the White House.

Former President Donald Trump was arrested, the politician said he could not believe that “this is happening in America.”

• Trump surrenders: Trump surrendered at Manhattan District Attorney's Office at 1:23 p.m. EST and was placed under arrest.
• Trump pleads not guilty: He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to women who claimed to have had sex with him.
• What's at stake: The high-stakes case represents risks for Trump, who faces possible criminal penalties if convicted, and also Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who Republicans including Trump have vilified as politically motivated.
• What was grand jury investigating?:  Witnesses said Trump arranged for his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to pay two women for their silence before the 2016 election.
• 2024 election: Trump denied wrongdoing and noted Cohen is a convicted liar. Trump’s rivals for the GOP nomination have criticized Bragg, with some saying voters should decide the former president’s fat
  

  Takeaways: Donald Trump was arrested today. What you need to know about the arraignment and charges

  Trump is back in South Florida; speaks tonight 

  Trump's plane touched down in South Florida around 6:40 p.m., just a few hours after his guilty plea.

  The former president now heads to Palm Beach and his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he will address supporters in a speech scheduled for 8:15 p.m.

  Read the Trump indictment: Donald Trump charged with crimes in New York

  Trump GOP critic Mitt Romney comes to his defense in New York case

  Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, one of Donald Trump's fiercest GOP critics, again criticized him as unfit for office Tuesday – but he also questioned the merit of the case that New York prosecutors filed against the former president.
  
  “I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office," Romney said after the former president's arraignment. "Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda."
  
  

  
  Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., joined by the popular
  

  WASHINGTON–The biggest debate on Capitol Hill Wednesday played out in a hallway – not the House floor. 

  After voting wrapped up, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, was just getting started. 

  "They're all cowards! They won't do anything to save the lives of our children. Cowards," Bowman said to reporters assembled outside the House chamber. "They're gutless."

  Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, started to walk by and asked Bowman what he was talking about. 

  "I'm talking about gun violence!" Bowman shouted.

  "You know, there's never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry," Massie said. 

  Their dispute came days after the Nashville school shooting Monday, when three 9-year-old students and three staff members were killed. 

  'We're not going to fix it': Why lawmakers see no chance of major gun law changes after Nashville.