Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to go on trial next June.

The trial of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027, a New York judge ordered on Wednesday.

The U.S. military seized Maduro and Flores from their compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in a dramatic nighttime raid on January 3 and brought them to New York to face charges of arms and drug crimes.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 17 to hear both sides’ motions.

Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said his client would argue in court that they are protected by sovereign immunity.

The court was packed with spectators, some who had lined up for hours for a chance to see Maduro in person.

Before the trial began, a court officer warned the crowd to sit down and “not say anything.”

Anyone who doesn’t obey the decorum “could have legal issues of your own,” the officer warned.

The gallery usually followed the instructions when Maduro and Flores entered the room in the late afternoon, but some grumbled or sighed.

Maduro, dressed in a beige prison uniform but not handcuffed, nodded to the gallery as he walked to his seat at the defense table.

He and Flores sat quietly, wearing headphones for translation, as their attorneys spoke to the judge.

When it was time to leave, Maduro stopped. He faced the crowd and gave a single wave before disappearing into the bowels of the courthouse, guarded by US Marshals.

Outside the courthouse, anti-war protesters condemned the US military operation that led to Maduro’s arrest, holding signs reading “Free President Maduro” and protesting the “sham trial” being held in one protester’s words.

“The US is trying to keep Venezuela, Latin America and the Middle East under its thumb,” said a spokesman for the Anti-War Action Network.

Some Venezuelans supported the prosecution by wearing the country’s flag.

“Maduro is a criminal,” said Wilmer Contreras, 53, who moved to the United States 30 years ago. It is part of the government. They completely destroyed my country.

Contreras said he “absolutely” supports the Trump administration’s military takeover of Maduro.

“What they did was something that we were waiting for and waiting for a long time. And when it happened, things changed in my country,” he told the BBC.