A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, charged Donald Trump and 18 other defendants as a part of a sweeping conspiracy to keep the former president in power following his 2020 election loss.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this is the fourth indictment against Trump in less than five months — two at the state level and two at the federal level. The former president is now facing 91 criminal charges, ranging from falsifying business records in New York to seeking to subvert the 2020 presidential election.
Many of the charges carry hefty prison sentences of 10 to 20 years, if convicted. Trump, 77, could spend the rest of his life in prison if found guilty of one or more of the charges and is sentenced.
A few students and administrative staff of Alabama State University believe that the former president should have been indicted if he is guilty of the charges.
Danasia Walton, a sophomore majoring in political science, said
“I honestly feel like he just needs to go and sit down somewhere.” She continued, “There was so much proof and evidence that he was cheating. My grandmother said something to the effect that he needed thousands of votes. It is something shady behind the scenes that he was trying to do to America, that we just do not need.”
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Freddie Williams Jr. feels that a conviction for Trump will be a positive thing.
“The only way this is a helpful thing, in terms of what they are doing, is if he is convicted. Because other than conviction, you cannot run with a conviction, so you have to terminate the campaign at that point,” he said.
He continued.
“That is the only way I can see this as being a positive thing. The other thing is the implication behind getting him out of the race because they stormed the Capitol on January 6 (2021). What are the implications of the people who feel like Trump was done wrong? At the end of the day, there are no winners and losers in this thing because it is sad that we have gotten to a point in our lives and history where this is second nature. I do not know if you have followed the campaign when he was running and heard some of the foul things that he said against women and some of the things that he has done against women, yet you still have women voting for this dude.”
Kierastein Coleman, a senior criminal justice major, believes that a person is innocent until proven guilty. However, if he is guilty, he should be treated like any other prisoner.
“I believe that if there is substantial evidence on the allegations of Donald Trump and the crimes he committed then he should face prison time,” she said. “… but also not be allowed to run as president or any other governmental positions in the future. If he was willing to lie and get others to help him, then he should face the consequences.”
Professor Tamaria Daneshvar made it very clear that she stopped paying attention once she realized he was not going anywhere.
Zachariah Bailey, a junior accounting major, felt like if he is proven guilty, he should pay the consequences.
“If you do the crime, you have to do the time,” he said. “If people are still supporting him when the facts and evidence show that he is wrong, you have to question those people’s moral beliefs. Wrong is wrong and right is right. It is black or white, either you did it or you didn’t. If the facts and evidence says that you did it, then you have to question those people that are still supporting him saying that he is innocent.”
Renata Thomas, a cashier at the university, said, “I do not believe that this fourth indictment will be his last indictment. I think there are other things that are going to come out that are the lies he has been saying since he lost the election. He has to work through a lot of issues. If he comes out on top, one for Trump, but I do not see him coming out on top at all.”
