Dressed in a dark blue suit and red tie, Trump, 76, showed little emotion as he waved to a crowd gathered outside court after being herded in a motorcade from his New York residence at Trump Tower.
The Republican, who has called the accusations politically motivated, raised his fist in a gesture to reporters as he left Trump Tower.
The former president said nothing as he walked past police and through a courtroom hallway before entering the courtroom.
Trump was due to turn himself in to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office before an appearance before Judge Juan Merchan.
At an arraignment, the defendant hears the charges and can plead guilty. Trump was fingerprinted, but no mugshot was taken, according to a Twitter post by a reporter for the New York Times.
In other social media posts ahead of the appearance, Trump renewed his attacks on Merchan, who last year presided over a trial in which the Republican’s real estate company was convicted of tax fraud.
Trump, who was president between 2017 and 2021, announced in November his candidacy to return to the White House in 2024 in an attempt to deny a second term to Democrat Joe Biden, who defeated him in 2020.
An image taken by a photographer in the courtroom showed Trump seated at the defense table, flanked by lawyers.
Five photographers will be admitted into the room before the appearance begins to take pictures for several minutes. Trump’s lawyers had urged a judge to keep them out, arguing they would worsen “an already almost circus-like atmosphere.”
With information from AFP and Reuters