Will Donald Trump go to jail? Former president indicted over bid to overturn 2020 election

Former president Donald Trump has been charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat, in a historic indictment adding to his growing list of legal battles.

The latest indictment sees Trump facing four charges, accusing him of conspiracy to defraud the US government, tampering with a witness, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The 45-page indictment, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, alleged in stark detail that Trump knowingly spread false allegations about fraud, convened false slates of electors, and attempted to block the certification of the election on January 6.

“Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power,” the indictment reads. “So, for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he actually won. These claims were false and the defendant knew they were false.

“But the defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway — to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of elections.”

Trump, 77, has already been charged with two other cases, but it is the first time he has faced charges for his efforts to overturn the election.

He was indicted earlier this year in Miami for illegally retaining classified documents, and in New York for paying hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump is also expected to face state charges in Georgia over his attempts there to reverse the 2020 election defeat.

The Trump campaign said in a statement that Tuesday’s indictment amounted to election interference.

“The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes,” said the campaign.

It added: “These un-American witch hunts will fail.”

Trump is due to appear in court on Thursday in Washington DC.

Why has Donald Trump been indicted?

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted in three separate criminal investigations, at both federal and state levels.

Election inquiry and January 6 investigation

Trump’s latest indictment marks the first time he has faced criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

He is facing four charges, accusing him of conspiracy to defraud the US government, tampering with a witness, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens, in the 45-page indictment, brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Smith said: “The attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.

“As described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies.”

Classified documents case

In June, a federal grand jury in Florida charged Trump with 37 criminal counts relating to his handling classified files after he left the White House. On July 27, three more charges were added.

Last year, thousands of documents were seized in an FBI search at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, including approximately 100 which were marked as classified.

When Trump left office in January 2021, he was meant to hand over all presidential records. This is routine for outgoing presidents, as the records are federal property.

It’s illegal for officials, including former presidents, to remove or keep classified documents at an unauthorised, insecure location.

However, months after Trump left the White House, prosecutors have said the former president took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago. The files included a letter that former president Barack Obama left for Trump when he left office, as well as correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and a trial is scheduled for next May in Florida.

Stormy Daniels hush money

In March, Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan and charged with 34 criminal counts relating to an alleged $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims Trump had sex with her.

He is accused of falsifying business records in relation to the payment made by his attorney Michael Cohen.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels and has called the indictment “political persecution”.

What could happen next?

It’s unclear yet when the case will go to trial, but Jack Smith said his office will seek speedy proceedings.

“I must emphasise that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, in a court of law,” Smith said in a press conference on Tuesday.

The former president’s trial in New York over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels begins in March 2024. Then, his criminal trial in Florida for retaining national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago property is set to start two months later in May.

However, his indictments will not prevent him from running for president again, and nor will any conviction.

Could Trump go to jail?

Of all the indictments laid against Donald Trump, the latest one relating to the events of January 6, 2021, is the most serious.

Speculation has mounted as to whether he could face jail time if convicted of any of the three cases against him.

Legal experts have already said that Mr Trump might face prison if he is convicted of mishandling documents, or of obstructing the investigation into whether he did. Each charge carries a maximum sentence ranging from five to 20 years.

National security lawyer and George Washington University law professor Kel McClanahan said that the department will probably “want to go for incarceration” in the case of Trump, according to Insider.

Trump is running for president again next year, and has insisted he has done nothing wrong.

He said he “never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former president of the United States”.