The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, has become the first former president to face criminal charges. He currently faces indictments in four different cases, including a January 6th insurrection case, a classified documents case, a hush money case, and most recently, an indictment in connection with alleged efforts to overturn the presidential election in Georgia.
On August 14, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia indicted Donald Trump and 18 others for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The primary evidence used in prosecuting him was a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, which featured Trump asking him to find the votes he needed to win the state. Additionally, a letter, which was sent to Raffensperger from Donald Trump, asked him to decertify the state’s 2020 vote.
The Blue and White had the opportunity to discuss these charges with several Apopka High School students and staff members. When asked if she thought Trump’s indictments were fair, Sophomore Sophia Powell emphasized that there was a lot of evidence in regards to the documents case. When interviewed, Senior Joselyn Diaz said she thought the indictments were fair. “No one is above the law and with that I believe that everything comes with a price,” she said. However, when Mr. Whitcomb was asked about them, he dismissed them as a joke. One of our AHS staff responders, who prefers to stay anonymous, expressed doubts concerning the case in Atlanta. “I don’t think he’s in much danger, because I don’t think a jury is going to ever convict him. You’re not going to find twelve people in Georgia who think he’s guilty.”
Donald Trump’s mugshot in Georgia has also become a popular topic of conversation and has transformed into a widely known meme. When questioned regarding the reason for this, Mr. Blevins reported that “either side can use it,” referring to the left and right sides of the political spectrum. Sophia Powell also commented something similar, “Anyone will make a meme out of anything.” Mr. Whitcomb explained that both sides loved it for different reasons. He elaborated by saying that the right loved it because “everything [they’ve] been saying for the past five years, they’re out to get them…” This is close to a statement Donald Trump made about the situation, “This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins.” However, when we asked Sophia Powell if she thought the indictments were a play made by the Biden Administration, she responded “No, I think Trump has more enemies than just Biden and if that was his tactic then it isn’t a very effective one.”
Despite the fact that these indictments are receiving widespread attention, many of the people we were able to interview said that the indictments haven’t altered their opinions of Trump. Sophia Powell mentioned that she has always hated him; it wasn’t brought on by his recent indictments. Joselyn Diaz also provided thoughtful insight, explaining that it shows how politicians work, “…Politicians say a bunch of things to feed the people into voting for them just to turn around and do something completely different,” she said.
Although the Georgia indictment is the most recent, we also asked the interviewees about all four cases. An anonymous respondent explained that they thought the indictments that served as the gravest situation out of the four was the documents case. “They asked Trump to give them back, and he didn’t. And he’s on tape bragging about half of it. So I think he’s in serious legal jeopardy,” our source said. Mr. Whitcomb also commented, saying he thought that this case was the most worrying.
Donald Trump’s first trial date is currently set for March 4, 2024, with him pleading not guilty to all 91 charges.
