By: Eleanor Liang

Former US President Donald Trump is indicted for an attempt to overturn his rival and his election defeat.

“After investigating claims made against him, a federal grand jury has given the green light to indict him,” Kids News wrote.

This decision tells us that Mr. Trump would be tried in court to prove whether he’s innocent.

In the past few days, Mr. Trump has been pleading innocence and trying to prove that. He was “answering for the first time to federal charges that accuse him of orchestrating a brazen and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” as AP News described the scene.

According to Kids News, Mr. Trump has been the first president to be formally indicted and accused of criminal charges.

He, though, decided to be a candidate for the 2024 presidency.

WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED?

Mr. Trump is facing a few major charges now, like “conspiracy, or knowingly breaking the law, in order to defraud, or trick, the US, and get in the way of official proceedings.” Kids News reported.

The charge of conspiracy relates to his post-election behavior and the claims of Joe Biden, the president of the US.

Mr. Trump scolded and accused officials of interfering with the election. “I’m the rightful owner,” he stated.

“Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power,” the indictment of charges said of Mr. Trump.

“So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the defendant spread lies that there had been… fraud in the election (and) that he had actually won. These claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false.”

The indictment also said Mr. Trump’s actions created moods of mistrust and fury and led many Americans to question if they could trust the electoral processes in place.

MOB OF CAPITOL RIOT

Two months after Mr. Trump’s election defeat, a mob of “Trumpies” (supporters of Mr. Trump) marched near the Capitol building in Washington, DC, “where the US Congress was in the process of making Joe Biden the new US president. The standard procedures included a formal count of votes before Mr. Biden’s election win was certified.” Kids News reported.

Trumpie rioters broke in in order to stop this process.

They stormed in shortly after Mr. Trump’s persuasive speech, urging the supporters to tramp in the Capitol building.

“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” Mr. Trump remarked solemnly, dramatically, and persuasively.

LAST STRAW

The last straw was when Donald Trump called Vice President Mike Pence to block Mr. Biden’s victory.

It started on December 25, when Mike Pence called Mr. Trump and wished him a fantastic and jolly Christmas. But who knew that Trump would “quickly turn the conversation to January 6 and his request that the Vice President reject electoral votes that day?!”

Mr. Pence replied, “You know I don’t think I have the authority to change the outcome.”

“Special Counsel Jack Smith told reporters the actions of the angry mob was ‘an assault on democracy’ that was ‘fuelled by lies’ and was aimed at getting in the way of ‘collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election,’” remarked Kids News.

Mr. Smith said he wanted a speedy trial in the case against Mr. Trump.

The indictment marks the third set of criminal charges filed against Mr. Trump this year, during his campaign to return to the White House as President in 2024.

But should someone facing criminal charges be allowed to run for office?

Sources: https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-a79f2d3683c7591058635c9b3d870070