'Everything is safe,' Francis Suarez says amid Trump arraignment in Miami

Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami and a likely presidential candidate, took a victory lap Tuesday in the wake of Donald Trump’s appearance at the city’s federal courthouse. In a minute-long video posted online, Suarez can be seen meeting with law enforcement officials, greeting bike cops and walking outside in sunglasses as he was interviewed by reporters and others, surrounded by cameras and smartphones. 

“I think it's (been) up to now a peaceful demonstration for people exercising their constitutional rights, to express themselves, which is what we love about this country, what people have died for in this country,” Suarez said in the video. One woman came up to him and said, “Thank you for everything.” He replied, “You're welcome. Everything is safe.”

The city “prepared for anywhere from 5,000 to upward of 50,000 protesters” ahead of the arraignment of the former president, “who faces a 37-count federal indictment over classified documents he allegedly stored at his (Palm Beach) residence, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House,” the Miami Herald explained. He pleaded not guilty. The crowd “peaked at nearly 1,500,” one police officer later told the Herald, which also reported there were “some skirmishes that police had to break up.”

At one point in the video, Suarez was asked, “How do you feel about security and safety so far today?” He said, “I feel good. The crowd is manageable. We've obviously anticipated any possibility and we had significant contingency plans … Today is about keeping my city safe.”