Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage.

Speaking at Republican state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina, Trump cast his indictment by the Department of Justice as an attempt to damage his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term.

“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump alleged in Georgia, later telling the gang that, “In the top, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

The technique is a well-worn one for Trump, who stays the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination regardless of his mounting authorized woes, which additionally embrace felony costs filed in opposition to him in March in New York. Again and once more, within the face of investigation, Trump has tried to delegitimize regulation enforcement officers and painting himself — and his supporters — as victims, even when he’s accused of great crimes.

Trump additionally vowed Saturday to stay within the race, even when he’s convicted within the case.

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“I’ll never leave,” he advised Politico in an interview aboard his airplane after his speech in Georgia. He additional predicted that he would not be convicted and sidestepped questions on whether or not he would pardon himself if he wins a second time period.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have to,” Trump stated. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The indictment unsealed Friday costs Trump with willfully defying Justice Department calls for that he return categorized paperwork, enlisting aides in his efforts to cover the information and even telling his legal professionals that he needed to defy a subpoena for the supplies saved at his residence.

The indictment consists of allegations that he saved paperwork in a ballroom and toilet at his Mar-a-Lago resort, amongst different locations.

Trump is because of make his first federal court docket look Tuesday in Miami. He was charged alongside valet Walt Nauta, a private aide whom prosecutors say moved packing containers from a storage room to Trump’s residence for him to evaluation and later lied to investigators in regards to the motion. Nauta traveled with Trump to Georgia, showing by his aspect at a Waffle House cease the place the previous president signed autographs, posed for photographs and advised supporters, “We did absolutely nothing wrong.”

Earlier Saturday, Trump was given a hero’s welcome on the celebration conference in Georgia, the place he drew loud applause as he slammed the investigation as “a political hit job” and accused his political enemies of launching “one hoax and witch hunt after another” to forestall his reelection.

“The ridiculous and baseless indictment by the Biden administration’s weaponized Department of Injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” he said.

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He also used his remarks to rail against President Joe Biden and his 2016 Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, accusing them of mishandling classified information and insisting he was treated unfairly because he is a Republican. But Trump overlooked a critical difference: Only he has been accused of intentionally trying to impede investigators by not returning the documents in question.

In the Clinton probe, for instance, FBI investigators concluded that although she was extremely careless in her handling of classified emails on a private server, there was no evidence that she intended to break the law. And though the Biden investigation is still ongoing, no evidence has emerged to suggest that he intentionally held onto the records or even knew that they were there, with his representatives turning over records after they were discovered and voluntarily consenting to FBI searches.

Trump also lingered on Georgia’s role in his 2020 defeat, repeating his lies that he had won the state and defending his efforts to overturn Biden’s victory, which is the subject of another ongoing investigation, this one by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis has suggested that any indictments would likely come in August.

At the heart of the investigation is a recorded phone conversation in which Trump urges Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” — simply sufficient to overhaul Biden and overturn Trump’s slim loss within the state. Trump has defended the cellphone name as “perfect,” and on Saturday lashed out against both Willis and the special counsel in the Mar-a-Lago case.

Despite the latest criminal charges, attendees cheered him on in Georgia and in North Carolina, where he spoke at a state GOP convention dinner Saturday evening.

About 100 supporters, some waving “Witch Hunt” indicators, confirmed as much as the Columbus, Georgia, airfield to greet Trump as he arrived. Jan Plemmons, 66, sporting an oversize foam “Make America Great Again” hat, known as the federal costs “absolutely ridiculous” and stated she was able to marketing campaign with Trump. To Michael Sellers, 67, it was “felony what they’re doing to him.”

The indictment arrives as Trump is continuing to dominate the primary race. Among the various investigations Trump has faced, the documents case has long been considered the most perilous legal threat and the one most ripe for prosecution. But Trump’s continued popularity among Republican voters is evident in how gingerly his primary rivals have treated the federal indictment.

Mike Pence, whose appearance in North Carolina marked the first shared venue with his former boss since the ex-vice president announced his own campaign this past week, condemned the “politicization” of the Justice Department and urged Attorney General Merrick Garland “to cease hiding behind the particular counsel and stand earlier than the American folks” to clarify the premise for the federal investigation into Trump.

In an interview with The Associated Press after his speech, Pence stated he had learn the indictment however repeatedly declined to share his private response to its contents — together with the pictures of packing containers with categorized info stacked in a Mar-a-Lago lavatory and on a ballroom stage — or to criticize Trump.

“The very nature of a grand jury is that there is no defense presented,” Pence stated. “That’s why I said today I’m going to urge patience, encourage people to be prayerful for the former president, but also for all those in authority and for the country going forward.”

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At the North Carolina GOP gathering Friday evening, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s main GOP rival, did not point out Trump by identify however in contrast his state of affairs to that of Clinton.

“Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” DeSantis requested. “I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country. … At the end of the day, we will once and for all end the weaponization of government under my administration.”

Among the declared Republican contenders, solely Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has explicitly known as for Trump to finish his candidacy. Hutchinson advised reporters in Georgia that the Republican Party “should not lose its soul” in defending Trump and stated the proof to this point urged that the previous president handled nationwide secrets and techniques “like entertainment tools.”