People Pay $2,000 to Get Into Trump’s Trial: Report

Some people are reportedly paying $2,000 to get into former President Donald Trump’s ongoing criminal trial in New York City.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that lines outside to get into the trial were lengthy, with one woman saying that she paid another person $750 to hold her spot in the line.

Another man told the news outlet that he sold his spot in line for $2,000 to two people, reportedly prompting concern from others waiting in line to get into the trial.

Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan continued on Tuesday for its fifth consecutive week as he is accused of covering up hush money payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to hush money he arranged for his former lawyer, Michael Cohen to pay Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election in order to allegedly conceal an affair she said she had with Trump. The money was listed in Trump’s company records as Cohen’s legal fees.

Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, denies having an affair with Daniels and has said that the case against him is politically motivated.

While speaking with NPR on Tuesday, an individual identified as Craig Weinstein was waiting in line to get into the trial with his daughter, Jessica.

“We always like to do the historical events,” Weinstein told NPR. “Last game at Yankee Stadium. Last game at Shea Stadium. Anything that’s big, we do. So this is our thing.”

NPR reported that around the first five to nine people waiting in line are likely to get into the trial, while 30 others are led to an overflow room where they can watch the trial on a closed-circuit television.

Another woman, Eileen Lucuski and her son Andrew, were also seen waiting in line to get into the trial and told NPR that “It’s history. It’s kind of great, too, to make sure to see things like this.”

“And I wanted to kind of see for myself how it … all works and how it’s going,” Lucuski told NPR.

Cohen began his testimony on Monday and he is expected to continue on Tuesday, with Trump’s defense team having the opportunity to cross-examine.

Newsweek’s Katherine Fung, who has been inside the courtroom, reported on Tuesday that several Republican lawmakers and officials attended the trial on Tuesday.

GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson was standing behind the former president as he addressed the media from outside of the courtroom. Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds are all in court during the testimony. Eric Trump, Lara Trump, and Alina Habba are also in the courtroom, among others, Fung reported.

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.