Donald Trump, a former US president, ran a campaign on Saturday to win back the White House he lost in 2020.
During his two campaign speeches, Trump called the federal indictment against him “ridiculous and baseless” in his first public appearance since the charges were announced, BBC said.
A 37-count indictment was made public on Friday to accuse him of keeping sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago property.
At two campaign speeches in Georgia and North Carolina yesterday, Trump said the indictment amounted to “election interference” by the “corrupt” FBI and justice department, as he denied any wrongdoing.
The ex-US President has been charged with mishandling hundreds of classified documents, including some about US nuclear secrets and military plans.
The indictment accused him of keeping the files at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago including in a ballroom and a shower.
He lied to investigators and tried to impede their probe into his handling of the documents, the indictment alleged.
According to BBC, it was the first ever criminal prosecution against a former US president.
Speaking at the first Republican Party convention in Georgia, Trump said, “They’re cheating, they’re crooked, they’re corrupt – these criminals cannot be rewarded, they must be defeated.”
He joked that every time he flies over a “blue state” – one controlled by the Democrats – he gets subpoenaed.
Mr Trump, who is running for the White House again in 2024, called the indictment a “hoax” by the “corrupt political establishment”, also describing it as a “joke” and a “travesty of justice”.
Both speeches – in Georgia and later in North Carolina – went on for more than an hour.