Right now at 11 00, what will happen next . Tonight former President Trump remains defiant. It was a historic day in washington, d. C. As mr. Trump was arraigned for the third time. And this time accused in a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 president ial election. Nbcs thom jensen has the details and the possible impact on the 2024 president ial election. Reporter a handful of ralliers in support of the indictment demonstrated in petaluma this evening. Im troubled that donald trump is the candidate for that party, and there is only a handful of those people that are standing up to him. Reporter they say evidence of the former president s guilt is laid thought the indictment for felony counts saying he conspired to defraud the government and sought to overturn an election. In the courtroom, special counsel jack smith sat in the front row. The man who led the investigation and accused the former president of spreading lies about a stolen election. But the former president stood defiant following his arraignment. When you look at whats happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in america. Reporter his legal team calling it an attack on First Amendment rights to free speech. This is the first time that the First Amendment has been criminalized. Reporter but the 45page criminal indictment details action that the trump team, led by mr. Trump set into action, including schemes to use fake electors to flip votes in key battleground states. Dancing in the streets over the indictments outside the d. C. Courthouse, but also supporters of the former president , who still believe the election was stolen and mr. Trump is being unfairly prosecuted. We see that this government is weaponized against the american people. Not playing fair. He is a frontrunner for the president of the united states. Reporter but these petaluma ralliers say the Trump Supporters must be deliberately turning a blind eye to the truth. I encourage anyone that has a question to read the indictment. Weve all heard these things if youre paying attention, and youre not watching fox news. Reporter the former president has scheduled to be back in court on august 28th when we could learn the trial county. Thom jensen, nbc bay area news. Thank you. Whats the timeline . The Justice Department wants to move as quickly as possible on this latest case. The judge today said she intends to set a trial date at that hearing thom was mentioning later this month. March 25th of next year, weeks after super tuesday, thats the start date for the criminal trial into the hush money case in new york. May 20th of next year, the federal criminal trial in the classified documents case. Mr. Trumps legal team is expected to continue pushing to delay all three trials until after the 2024 election. Our coverage continues online at nbcbayarea. Com. We have a lot posted there. Click on the trump tab on our trending bar for more of what happened in court today. Also, a close call in the south bay. Firefighters still working to contain a fire that prompted an evacuation warning and road closures in the hills east of san jose. That 66 acre fire broke out near clayton road. As of earlier this evening, they stopped the fire from spreading, and at last check, its about 30 contained. Nbc bay areas elisa gourd is there now. It sounds like all that work, they got a lot of progress, but its not over. Yeah, it is not over yesterday. Those evacuation warnings remain in effect for People Living around Three Springs road, which is close to where we are at clayton road. And those fire crews continue working on the hillsides behind me, hoping things continue the stay calm throughout the night. From the ground and overhead, fire crews are rushing to contain the clayton fire, which started thursday afternoon. Crews stopped the spread by the evening. But cal fire says around 30 homes are still threatened. We have homes spread throughout the area. They are all on maybe a couple of acres each. Reporter the homes near Three Springs road have been issued an evacuation warning, not an order. Make sure that youre aware that there is going to be a lot of moving equipment in and out of the area. Keep your head on a swivel and try to be safe. Reporter many residents tell us theyre worried about their animals. This man left work as soon as he heard to check in on his horse, who is boarded here. Thanks to the firefighters, hes live and im just thanking them for being here for them. Reporter while firefighters work, theyre warning us fire season is far from over. Its not about if, its when. And its just really important for us and the communities around us to be prepared and vigilant. Reporter in san jose, alyssa goard, nbc bay area news. Crews are almost done collecting the hazardous chemicals found inside of backyard shed in Contra Costa County in the neighborhood there yesterday. The chemicals prompted evacuations within a sixblock radius of the stanton avenue in san pablo. Firefighters say the homeowner died several months ago and his brother was clearing out the home, noticed the odor, and called 911. 600 different chemicals were discovered. Their safety is most importance. And we want to make sure we could guarantee that. And were working hard to ensure that. This was part of our breaking News Coverage last night. Five homes remain under evacuation orders. Crews will remove the remaining chemicals tomorrow morning. A sad update tonight in the east bay. Weve learned that an 8yearold boy who was shot on a freeway in oakland is now paralyzed. Asa lu was struck by a stray bullet july 14th. The familys gofundme says the bullet and bone fragments were lodged in his neck and spinal cord, paralyzing the little boy from the neck down. The family is preparing for him to go home and say it will kely cost them 250,000 in the coming months just to ensure a smooth transition. The cost includes modifications to their home and car, rehab, education, and 24hour care. Asa is one of at least seven children who have been shot on bay area freeways in the last few years. Police have not said whether they have made an arrest in the shooting. New at 11 00, a big statement tonight from the San FranciscoDistrict Attorney. Brook jenkins says the biggest roadblock to cleaning up fentanyl and the crime crisis in the city is not the mayor, not the cops, but the courts. Letting the dealers off the hook. She said this during a town hall meeting in the tenderloin. Here is nbcs gia vang. I want my community back. Reporter sentiments echoed by others in a packed town hall in sf tenderloin. This comes about two weeks after a man was shot nearby in broad daylight. The problem that we have here is that organized criminals work with impunity and without apparent consequences. Reporter the community looking for answers from the people on this panel thursday. Police chief bill scott, sheriff and District Attorney brook jenkins who told crowd in order for the streets to get cleaned up, the courts need to be cleaned up as dealers who go to trial are in and out sometimes in hours. And they can see the same person out the next day. Not because my office is failing to do its job. Were going in, filing these motions, arguing about the deadliness of fentanyl and about the dangerousness of this conduct, and yet its still the judges are ignoring it. Reporter she went on to tell the crowd that her office wants repeat offenders to be detained while waiting trial, but only 16 of 100 requests have been granted. Meantime, arrests are way up. With the help of the chp and dea that were called in, it has led to about a thousand narcotics dealings arrests mostly in the tenderloin and south of market. We are nearly where we were all of last year. And were just at the beginning of august with drug sales arrests. And in terms of were arresting people who are using in public. Were barely did that at all last year. Reporter in San Francisco, gia vang, nbc bay area news. Also new at 11 00, an Appeals Court has decided that a Biden Administration regulation that restricts asylum at the southern border can stay in place for now. That decision a major win for the president who has argued that the policy is integral to efforts to maintain order along the border. Now it temporarily blocks a Lower Court Decision that found the policy illegal and ordered the government to end its use by this coming monday. The vta wil not be able to a laws stemming the mass shooting at its s jose facility two years ago. Lars lane was one of the nine men killed in 2021 after an employee, Samuel Cassidy opened fire at one of the agencys rail yards. Lanes family accuses the vta of overlooking concerns about cassidys behavior at work, leading up to the tragedy. Vta has filed to have the case dismissed, but today a judge ruled against vta. Legal papers show vta has already also paid 8 million in da claims tohe fams of the victims. A group o students leading the charge to clean up homeless encampments around san jose schools. Students from kip san jose collegiate, along with the mayor, matt mahan, announced a proposed ordinance to ban encampments within 150 feet of schools. Some students at kip say they carry pepper spray after being harassed by People Living in rvs as they walk to school. They took their concerns to city hall, and together with the mayor crafted that proposed ordinance. They spoke out because homeless neighbors were sleeping on School Grounds and in school bathrooms. They spoke out because they were finding needles on their lunch tables. Our students should not have to face the ramifications of our failure on homelessness. The city council has to approve the ordinance before it goes into effect. Were back in 60 seconds. Ahead, was political payback at play . A fight playing out in Alameda County. We investigate why seven prosecutors were placed on leave after District Attorney pamela price was sworn in. And the impact its had on criminal cases. Also, have you shopped at safeway lately . Check your receipt. County inspectors say safeway was overcharging customers in some of its bay area stores. Well tell you where. Im chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. More on the fog for tomorrow. The increasing heat and two wildfires in oregon and whats happening with the smoke. My forecast cong up in about mi Alameda CountyDistrict Attorney pamela price has been at the helm for seven months now, but her decision to place seven deputy d. A. s on leave her first week on the job is raising some concern about the impact on numerous criminal cases. Tonight one of those prosecutors talks with me exclusively about what happened and why she thinks being taken off one of the most infamous bay area cold cases is political payback. This campaign was never about me or my place in history. This campaign was about bringing justice with compassion and making much needed changes. Reporter change was the platform pamela price ran on. The status quo is not working. Its time to fight for reform. Reporter and Racial Equity the mantra she brought into office. Thinking office has a long history of overcriminalizing young people, overcriminalizing black and brown youth. My predecessor fought and campaigned against criminal justice reform. Reporter that reform came swiftly. Within days of taking office in january, price placed career prosecutor Colleen Mcmahon on paid administrative leave. She handed me a letter and said that i am on administrative paid leave and that i need to empty out my office and i will be escorted out of the building. Reporter and what was the reason . The sum and substance of it is she learned through i believe her campaign public records request that i may have been involved in independent Expenditure Committee campaigns that produced some mailers. Reporter so this is something that happened five years ago . Yes. Reporter six additional senior prosecutors were also placed on paid leave. Some, according to sources inside the d. A. s office also on allegations of campaign violations. And others on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. I never had five, six, seven people put on leave all like basically within a week. Reporter Matt Finnegan is the Union Attorney representing those deputy d. A. s. Finnegan maintains that the allegations dont rise to the level of paid leave. Usually it means that there is some kind of safety or very serious issue that would either warrant termination or like a major violation like a conduct violation, like some kind of sexual harassment. Reporter mcmahon acknowledges she campaigned against price during prices previous unsuccessful run against then d. A. Nancy omalley. I assisted with the campaign, like many of my other coworkers did in 2018, precinct walking, distributing lawn signs. Reporter but she maintains she violated no campaign or county rules. Longterm incumbent Nancy Omalley disqualified herself as an ethical leader. Reporter three years after she lost the 2018 election, prices political camp accused mcmahon and other county d. A. Staff of not playing by the rules. They hired a law firm in september of 2021 and filed a complaint with the fair political practices commission, which regulates Campaign Financing and conflicts of interest. The complaint alleged that deputy d. A. s and other employees working on omalleys campaign communicated would you tell us independent Expenditure Committees about raising funds to pay for antiprice ads. It pointed to an email of a thank you note template between mcmahon and another prosecutor after the 2018 election. That same month, price backers also filed a complaint with the alameda civil grand jury alleging the misuse of county staff email system, solicitation of funds, and the use of staff time for pro omalley election activities, a violation of county policies and state rules. I pamela y. Price reporter after she came into office in 2023, price placed seven prosecutors on leave. Two outside law firms were hired to conduct the investigation. I was hoping that i could explain to her what actually occurred, that there were no campaign violations. To this day ive never met her. Reporter this past may, after a 19month probe, the fppc closed its investigation, citing insufficient evidence that there was a violation. The grand jury report and the results of their investigation are very disturbing. Reporter but in june, the civil grand jury found staff failed to follow county policies with no consequence, and that the office lacked clear guidelines and enforcement. Its recommendation . Better education and training. The grand jury report shows that for too long, this office has had a culture of complicity and misconduct. Thats the culture we are determined to change. Reporter in a video posted to the d. A. s website, price pointed to the report as confirmation for those changes. Yes, we are cleaning house. Reporter despite multiple requests, price declined to sit down with me to discuss her staffing changes and their impacts on pending cases. Whatever policy she was going to enact and instruct her prosecutors to follow, i would have followed. Reporter did it feel like retribution . Oh, without question. I mean, it screams of retribution. Reporter mcmahon says the people most hurt are the families of the crime victims who were counting on the seven prosecutors to bring them justice. This is michaela when she was a baby. Reporter among them rodney garrett. His 9yearold daughter was abducted 34 years ago in hayward, the cold case unsolved for decades until investigators reexamined palm prints from the 80s led them to a suspect already serving time for murder, david misch. If anybody should be spending their life behind bars its david misch. He is an absolute public safety. Reporter price dropped special circumstance allegations against him. Aggravated forms of murder that if convicted would have meant life without the possibility of parole and placed mcmahon on leave. Supporters of price are going to say that youre disgruntled and that you didnt like her from the beginning. I was committed to seeing these cases through. Im not disgruntled. Im frustrated and upset with her placing me in limbo. The reason im coming forward is for the victims families. Reporter now mcmahon has since resigned, as have two other prosecutors. Now price recently filed misdemeanor charges against one of those former deputy d. A. s, butch ford. She alleges he interfered with the prosecution of a police officer, a charge he denied in court. The other four prosecutors remain on paid leave. And as far as the misch case goes, a new prosecutor regarded as highly experienced has been assigned to that case. It is unclear, though, when that trial, when that case will go to trial. Jessica, thank you. Lets turn things over to our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri as we head into friday. It looks like were going have some changes in the next several days. It is going to be getting hotter here for us. Im tracking this hot weather system thats building in interest south tomorrow. Thats going to begin to warm things up. Well also have some fog here at the coastline. Let me get you a look at our friday forecast and beyond in that microclimate weather. And oh, man, we have been used to this lately. That fog, as you start off. Its another morning with widespread cloud cover, and those spotty areas of drizzle coming back for us. Now the thing that is going to be different about tomorrow is most of this is going the clear back for sunny skies throughout the day area, except a little bit of fog left here at the coastline. So morning temperatures will be back again in the 50s tomorrow morning. 57 here in the peninsula. South bay 58, and well continue with that trend of 50s over the east day, San Francisco, and the north bay. So well start off on the cool side. And then by the afternoon, again with that hot weather system moving closer, numbers are going to warm up through the inland valleys, back up to 85 here