April 2023 in photos: USA TODAY's most memorable images
In the wake of the deadly Covenant School shooting on March 27, protestors filled the Tennessee State Capitol demanding gun reform. On April 6, the Tennessee House devolved into chaos after Republicans moved to expel Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson of Memphis, Justin Jones of Nashville and Gloria Johnson of Knoxville for "disorderly behavior" after they staged a protest in favor of gun control on the statehouse floor in an act of defiance. House Republicans voted to expel Jones and Pearson, both of whom are Black, for their role in the protest. Johnson, who is white, dodged an expulsion by one vote.
In New York, former President Donald Trump appeared in federal court on April 4 and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records. He is accused of hiding hush-money payments at his namesake company, where his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, arranged to silence two women before the 2016 election. It marked the first time in history that a former president had been criminally charged. Photographer Seth Harrison of The Journal News recalls the media frenzy around Trump's arraignment. "As this was the first of the investigations against Trump to result in charges, the national media, along with many protestors both for and against the former president, descended on lower Manhattan in the days preceding the arraignment, creating a week-long "circus" atmosphere outside the courthouse. I spent the week leading up to this moment outside the courthouse photographing the protestors and, along with the hundreds of other members of the media, anxiously awaiting Trump's arrival."
