NEW YORK — Donald Trump has left his Florida home and boarded his private plane to take a roughly three-hour flight to New York City ahead of his court appearance there.

He faces unspecified charges in connection with a payment his lawyer made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.

The trip began as he emerged from Mar-a-Lago in front of supporters cheering him on. It could end with a more hostile crowd lining the streets of Manhattan.

The former president, a New York native, currently resides at Mar-a-Lago, his sprawling beachfront residence and members-only club in Palm Beach, Florida.

He left home around 12:20 local time (17:20 BST).

Trump is being accompanied by US Secret Service agents. One official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post that “dozens and dozens” of agents would be required to ensure the trip is secure.

He traveled in a motorcade to Palm Beach International Airport, which is 2.5 miles (4km) from Mar-a-Lago. He has used the airport many times before and it’s about a 15-minute drive.

There has been a small number of vocal supporters outside his Florida home for days, and they could be heard cheering him on as he headed to the airport.

Trump is reportedly flying from Florida to New York’s LaGuardia Airport on his private plane — a flight of around three hours.

The aircraft, which has been dubbed Trump Force One, is a Boeing 757 that he purchased for a reported $100m (£80m) in 2011.

It has been used as a frequent backdrop for his campaign rallies and was recently refurbished and given a fresh paint job — Trump’s name features in large gold lettering.

According to the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, several Trump aides — including senior advisor Jason Miller, spokesman Steven Cheung and campaign strategist Susie Wiles — are traveling with him.

The plane took off at 13:00. Its flight path is currently the most-tracked in real-time worldwide.

The flight’s likely destination, LaGuardia, is in the Queens borough of the city, which is on the other side of the East River from Manhattan.

The former president, as it happens, has less than positive feelings about LaGuardia. Or at least he did before a multi-billion dollar renovation was completed last year.

“You land at LaGuardia... and you walk into a filthy terminal... and you have broken terrazzo floors and that’s all you have,” he said of the airport in 2015.

We expect Trump to arrive at LaGuardia late on Tuesday afternoon or perhaps early evening.

From there, he’ll head to Trump Tower in Manhattan, a journey most likely taken by car. It’s about a 40-minute drive through Queens, over the East River and then into Manhattan.

Given the fact he’s a former president and a large number of Secret Service agents will be traveling with him, we’d expect to see a motorcade of vehicles making the journey. And possibly a police escort complete with flashing lights and sirens.

Trump Tower was Trump’s primary residence from the 1980s until his permanent move to Florida was made official in late 2019. He attributed the move to being “treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state”.

At Trump Tower, he will reportedly meet with his legal team before spending the night in his penthouse that spans the top three floors of the skyscraper.

The journey will no doubt be quicker if Trump chooses to fly.

He does own a personal helicopter, and the BBC’s US partner CBS understands that it is available to fly him to Manhattan from LaGuardia if he chooses.

The former president’s journey from Trump Tower to the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building will be a major security operation involving large numbers of police and Secret Service agents.

The journey itself is about a 30-minute drive south through Manhattan — but that time could be much less if there’s a full police escort.

It’s not clear if Trump will make remarks to the media before he leaves Trump Tower or when he arrives outside court. Regardless, there will be a huge number of cameras and reporters waiting for him there.

New York police officers will secure the area surrounding the building and nearby roads will be closed off. Street parking will also be suspended for some time.

Trump’s path in and out of the building has reportedly been carefully mapped by Secret Service agents who visited the courthouse on Friday to assess the various routes.

Agents and officers will surround him as he enters and leaves in order to separate him from approaching members of the public, an anonymous law enforcement official told the Washington Post. — BBC