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The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday indicted former President Donald Trump in its investigation of the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol, following months of speculation.
The DOJ's investigation initially centered around the attack, which saw a mob of Trump supporters—allegedly incited by his unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud— violently protest at the Capitol in a failed effort to block President Joe Biden's 2020 Electoral College victory.
Trump was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. The indictment is below:
While Republicans voted to impeach Trump for inciting the riot, anger over the siege has waned and many Republicans are ready to move on.
Joshua Sandman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of New Haven, told Newsweek that an indictment is unlikely to negatively affect Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, which he announced in November.
"Most other Republican presidential candidates and the Republican leadership refuse to criticize Trump about his January 6 responsivity or role," he said in a statement. "Rather they refocus the issue to stress what they contend are abusive actions of the DOJ."
A Politico/Morning Consult poll from December showed 73 percent of Republicans thought there was too much focus on January 6. Sixty-five percent said it would have no impact on their 2024 voting mindset, up from 60 percent in December 2021.
Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation also expanded into other efforts to thwart the 2020 election results, including an alleged attempt by Trump's allies to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College from key battleground states that were narrowly won by Biden.
Ultimately, the efforts to thwart the election failed, and several investigations and recounts have upheld the integrity of the election.
Trump has maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of investigating him for political purposes. He has defended his conduct on January 6 by saying that he eventually told the rioters to "go home now." The former president has also said he "did nothing wrong on Jan 6th" in a Truth Social post last year, calling the attack on the nation's Capitol peaceful and patriotic.
In a Truth Social post on July 18, the former president wrote that he received a letter from Smith, who was chosen by the DOJ to oversee the investigation, stating that he was a target of the investigation and that he anticipated an indictment.
"Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden's DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment," Trump wrote in that post.
Only 31 percent of Republicans believe Trump is to blame for the January 6 attack, according to the Politico/Morning Consult poll, down from 41 percent immediately after the attack.
Trump has already been indicted twice this year.
First, he was charged with falsifying business records in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation of hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels claimed to have had an affair with Trump in 2006, though he has denied the allegation. Trump has also maintained his innocence in the case, pleading not guilty to all charges.
The DOJ last month indicted Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Federal prosecutors accused the former president of removing classified documents, at least one of which dealt with U.S. military plans, from the White House after leaving office in January 2021 and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 original counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, in the documents case. Three charges have since been added. He has said he did nothing wrong and that the documents were declassified. Trump, the first former president to face federal criminal charges, previously suggested he could declassify them by "thinking about it," rather than going through a formal declassification process, though legal experts have cast doubt on his theory.
Trump has also said he was "legally keeping his own documents," which does not violate federal law, as he believes the Presidential Records Act gave him "every right" to have the documents. He told Fox News host Bret Baier in June that the boxes found at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida contained newspaper and magazine clippings, rather than classified files.
Sandman added that Trump's popularity among Republican voters increased after his previous indictments.
"Republicans will not turn against him," he said. "Most have moved beyond the January 6 insurrection. They will see another indictment as another Democratic and elite assault on Trump."
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more