Trump calls 3rd indictment 'persecution' after pleading not guilty to new charges
WASHINGTON - Outside the federal courthouse in Washington on Thursday, just a stone’s throw from the scene of the January 6th Capitol Riot, a small crowd showed up to await the arrival of Donald Trump to face his third arraignment in four months—this time on four felony counts for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Speaking to reporters, Trump called the indictment a "persecution of a political opponent."
"This was never supposed to happen in America—this is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading (Joe) Biden by a lot. So if you can’t beat them, you persecute them or you prosecute them. We can’t let this happen in America."
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Before leaving his home in Bedminster, New Jersey via private jet, the 45th President took to social media to declare: I AM BEING ARRESTED FOR YOU.
FOX 32 political analyst Professor Stephen Caliendo of North Central College says that language is intended to motivate his supporters. The question is — to what length?
"That rhetoric is dangerous. I think he’s trying to rile up the base and when I say rile up, one would hope to mean electorally or for his fundraising to pay his legal bills or to contribute to his campaign, but we worry after what we saw on January 6th that it may be more than that. It may be worse than that."
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team has already taken the fight to the court of public opinion arguing that prosecutors are trying to criminalize their client’s right to free speech.
"When somebody wants to say that the 2020 election was perfect, and that President Trump has no right to object to it, we’ve got to go show them all the facts and there’s a lot of facts to show," attorney Alina Habby said on Thursday.
Caliendo pushed back at that assertion.
"It’s utter nonsense! If you read the indictment it makes clear – I mean you don’t even have to read between the lines! It’s clear that the problem isn’t what Trump said, it’s that he acted on the things that he said and that the things he said were in furtherance of a conspiracy."