By James King

Staff Writer

Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his defense team in a Manhattan court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Do you think that Former President Trump is a criminal? Well, I would say so. On August 14, 2023, the District Attorney of Fulton County, Fani Willis, filed charges against Former President Trump and 18 other defendants for election interference in Georgia. This case is now one of four active cases against the former president.

In Former President Trump’s most recent case, he is being charged on 13 different crimes. According to CNN, these charges are a violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, solicitation of violation of oath by public officer (3 counts), conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (2 counts), conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2 counts), conspiracy to commit filing false documents. Such charges really beg the question of if Former President Trump should be in jail, and with all the charges brought against him, I believe that he should be in jail 

and not allowed to run for presidency or hold any sort of office. 

Former President Trump has long been the subject of controversy after the 2016 election when he was accused of interfering in the election with Russia. Now he is once again being accused and charged of interfering with elections as well as even trying to start an insurrection against the United States Government. Through all this he has the audacity to claim that he is innocent?

It is very rare that politicians ever go to jail for crimes that they commit, and this unfortunately allows them to get away with breaking the law a lot on both sides of the political spectrum. However, when it comes to a crime like insurrection, it should be impossible for a politician to get away with that. Former President Trump should be equal in the eyes of the law to everyone else. According to a file released by the Department of Justice, punishments for the January 6th insurrectionists range from community service and fines to 18 years in jail. Currently there are more than 1,000 people who have been arrested in connection to what happened on January 6th, many of which being prosecuted under 40 U.S.C. § 5104 (A law that prohibits certain conduct in the U.S. Capitol). 

The United States has a principle called “rule of law.” Rule of law is what makes the laws of the United States apply to all persons, institutions, and entities. This is especially apparent from the recent case of Trump v. Vance. Within the case, the Supreme Court said that the President’s powers from Article II of the Constitution does not shield them from criminal investigations. Therefore, the former president should also be held accountable for any crimes that he had committed and should receive punishment for his actions.

What Former President Trump did should never be allowed again. What he did is both morally wrong as well as horrible for our democracy as a whole. Blatantly trying to undo the results of an election and cause an insurrection in our capitol only harms our democracy and puts us further in danger. That is why I am also of the belief that he should not be allowed to run again to hold any office in government. In several states it is illegal for felons to vote. Under that same logic, why would it make sense for us to allow someone who committed several crimes to run for election? Especially when these crimes pertain to interfering in election results.