Former US president Donald Trump has been charged for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign.
After nearly seven years since the money changed hands, Mr Trump has been accused of paying $130,000 (£106,000) to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair.
Mr Trump, the first former US president to face criminal prosecution, has denied the affair and accused Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion.
The indictment came after Mr Trump predicted he would be arrested in the case on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest.
Mr Trump would only be arrested if he refused to surrender, the Associated Press reported, adding that his legal team had previously said he would comply and would likely hand himself over to New York police or directly to the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.
Prosecutors have been calling witnesses to a grand jury investigating hush money paid on Mr Trump’s behalf, including his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
Pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws in 2018, Mr Cohen said that he was directed by Mr Trump to arrange payments totaling $280,000 (£229,000) to Ms Daniels, as well as Playboy model Karen McDougal, to buy their silence. Mr Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and has since been released.
While cases in New York typically take more than a year to move from indictment to trial, it raises the possibility of Mr Trump appearing before a jury in the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign, or even after election day on 4 November. If elected, Mr Trump would not hold the power to pardon himself of state charges.
The case is one of several legal challenges that Mr Trump is facing, including a Georgia election interference probe and investigations into his role in the 6 January, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters as well as classified documents found at his Florida home after leaving the White House.
This story is being updated
