Donald Trump was formally charged Tuesday in Manhattan with thirty-four felonies related to the funding of three nondisclosure agreements he made during his 2016 presidential campaign — two with former sexual partners and one with a doorman at Trump Tower.

Unable to muster the chaos on the streets he initially hoped for, Trump played it safe, saying nothing before the hearing and nothing of substance in court. Pro- and anti-Trump protesters, including a handful of elected officials, squabbled with one another outside the courthouse, but the scene was tame compared to the chaos of the January 6 riots.

As Trump flew back to Florida after the hearing, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg made his case to the public in a press conference. Amid skepticism that the allegations really amounted to felonies, Bragg underlined what he viewed as the seriousness of the charges, saying Trump’s alleged bookkeeping fraud in misreporting the nature of the “hush money” payments was also an attempt to avoid federal campaign laws and New York state tax laws. Prosecutors asked for a January 2024 trial, while Trump’s team said it needed at least until spring of that year to prepare.