FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The trial of Donald Trump over classified documents is now set to begin in May 2024 at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce.
The white-colored, multi-level building is about 12 years old and located in the heart of Fort Pierce on U.S. Highway 1.
"It looks like it's been designed like a military barracks the way it's been set up," local attorney Michael Ohle said. "Compared to Palm Beach and [Fort] Lauderdale, it's immense. It's much larger than their courtrooms."
The courthouse is smaller than the sprawling federal complex in Miami where Trump faced arraignment in June.
"I just think it's too small for a case of this magnitude," attorney Mark Schnapp, who formally worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Florida, said. "It's a brand-new courthouse, but it wasn't designed for this kind of case. It certainly wasn't anticipated something like this when it was being designed."
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The courthouse is home to Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case and announced the May 20 trial date on Friday.
"She set a May date, and I think that it's appropriate considering the New York trial and set a date that was reasonable to give them time to prepare," Schnapp said.
