Trump is due to surrender at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and will likely be fingerprinted prior to appearing before a judge for an arraignment where he will plead not guilty.

Trump, a Republican seeking to regain the presidency in 2024, is the first former US president to face criminal charges. He has hired Todd Blanche, a prominent white-collar criminal defence lawyer and a former federal prosecutor to lead his defence, said two sources familiar with the matter.

The specific charges in the grand jury indictment have yet to be disclosed. Trump has said he is innocent, and he and his allies have portrayed the charges as politically motivated.

A motorcade of several vehicles transported Trump from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach to the airport in nearby West Palm Beach on Monday. Trump and members of his entourage climbed a set of stairs and entered his plane.

Earlier Trump said on social media he would go to Trump Tower in Manhattan after arriving in New York, then would head to the courthouse on Tuesday morning.

Before his plane departed, small groups of Trump fans waited to show their support at the airport and on his route to get there.

“Our country needs him,” said Cindy Falco, 65, of Boynton Beach, Florida. “He’s pro-God, pro-family and pro-country.”

Falco predicted exoneration, saying: “Nothing is going to stick to him.”

Trump’s campaign issued a fundraising email taking aim at the media’s reporting on his indictment.

Remarks attributed to Trump in the email stated: “Our country has fallen. But I’m not giving up on America. We can and we will save our nation in 2024.”

His campaign said Trump raised more than $4 million in the 24 hours following the news of his indictment.

A court official said the arraignment was planned for 2.15 pm local time on Tuesday. Trump then will return to Florida and deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening, his office said.

-with AAP