Donald Trump is again accused of crimes and for the first time an American ex-president risks being sentenced to prison.
On Tuesday, it’s time for the first court appearance in Miami – and the police expect it to get rowdy outside the court.
– Several people in high positions have come out with statements stressing about this, says Lisa Grenfors, foreign affairs commentator.
In total, there are 37 charges. Of those, 31 deal with how Trump knowingly kept documents classified as classified national defense information at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after his time in the White House.
The material included, among other things, information about the United States’ nuclear weapons program, about the weapons capabilities of the United States and other countries, about vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attacks, and information from intelligence meetings in the White House.
– These documents would never be kept by Donald Trump at all, because they must go back to the national archives, says foreign affairs commentator Lisa Grenfors.
The theory: Would start a parallel White House
There is no information in the indictment that points to a clear motive for why he kept the documents, but there are different theories, says Lisa Grenfors.
– On the one hand, he has made statements that point in the direction that he regards this as his own personal property. And therefore he would have the right to take it with him, she says and continues:
– The other theory is that he would benefit from the documents in future business ventures. And the third theory is that, since he has not recognized the results of the 2020 presidential election, would use these documents to start a kind of parallel White House in Florida.
The police expect 50,000 people
During Tuesday, Donald Trump thus makes his first appearance in court in Miami when the court proceedings begin at 3 pm local time, 9 pm Swedish time. The police in Miami are prepared for unrest in connection with this.
Lisa Grenfors says that it is estimated that 50,000 people will be near the court. Several people in high positions have issued statements stressing Donald Trump’s appearance in court, she says.
– It is people in high positions who have such rhetoric that is similar to what was seen before the storming of the Capitol. But the difference now is that the police and the FBI have very tight control over this, which maybe they didn’t really have before the storming of the Capitol.
Still applying
The more serious charges carry up to 20 years in prison on the penalty scale. But there is nothing in the US constitution that prevents Trump from running for president next year – even if he were to be convicted.
– As it looks now, Donald Trump is doing very well in the opinion polls. He’s even doing better since these charges came out.