Jamaica and the rest of the democratic world remain on tenterhooks as the United States enters uncharted waters today with the historic first arraignment of a former president, which could set off a time of further tumult in a deeply divided country.

Former President Mr Donald Trump travelled from his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, yesterday to surrender today to authorities in Manhattan, New York, following his indictment last week by a grand jury.

That indictment was for allegedly paying a porn star — Stormy Daniels, who claims they had an extramarital affair — to bury a potential scandal just before his successful 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump denies the claims.

Ms Daniels was paid US$130,000 not to speak publicly about her claims, and the payments were channelled through Mr Trump’s fixer and personal lawyer Mr Michael Cohen, who has said his former boss approved the scheme. The lawyer served time in prison for his role. As president at the time, Mr Trump could not be indicted.

But with the former president now a private citizen, prosecutors, led by Manhattan District Attorney Mr Alvin Bragg, persuaded the grand jury that there was at least probable cause to charge him with more than two dozen counts in a sealed indictment, which are likely to be unveiled today at the arraignment.

Since a fortnight ago, when Mr Trump prematurely told his supporters he would be arrested, the country has been bracing for demonstrations as many leaders of the Republican Party lashed out at Mr Bragg, a Democrat, accusing him of political persecution.

New York security forces, anticipating sharply partisan responses from both GOP and Democrats, have mounted metal barricades around the courthouse on Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, where Mr Trump will hear the charges for the first time and most likely plead not guilty.

His angry response to the announcement of the indictment in which he attacked Mr Bragg and the state judge handling the case has set the tone for a trial which is expected to drag on for months.

The case, which has no precedent in over two centuries of American history, has already seen GOP lawmakers, and even potential rivals to Mr Trump for the 2024 presidential elections, take sides before the charges were unsealed. Three chairmen in the GOP-controlled House demanded Mr Bragg appear before them to explain his investigation.

The district attorney’s office has rejected those demands, labelling it an attempt to interfere in the case, telling the lawmakers to denounce these attacks and “urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury”.

Mr Trump also faces other legal perils, including in Georgia, where prosecutors in Fulton County are seeking an indictment against him for interfering in the 2020 presidential election, by urging the State’s secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” so he could win the state over Mr Joe Biden.

In Washington, a Justice Department special counsel is running investigations on two lanes into Mr Trump’s broader actions to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat, and for holding on to classified documents after leaving office.

For admirers of the United States, the prospect of a former president going to prison and the potential repercussions is frightening, to say the least.