Lawmakers implore Merrick Garland to protect 'the safety of the American people' if Trump is indicted
It remains to be seen whether or not former President Donald Trump will face some type of criminal indictment in 2023 — and if he does, which investigation that indictment will come from. But it is safe to say that no president or ex-president in U.S. history — not even Richard Nixon — has been in the position that Trump now finds himself in. Trump is seeking the GOP presidential nomination at a time when he is facing simultaneous investigations from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and special counsel Jack Smith, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis.
Trump has predicted that he will be arrested on Tuesday, March 21 in connection with the Manhattan DA Office's probe of alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. And he is urging his supporters to protest if that happens.
Some Democratic lawmakers, according to Axios reporter Andrew Solender, fear that U.S. will suffer more January 6, 2021-type violence if any of the current investigations lead to Trump facing some type of indictment.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Solender reports in a March 21 article, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California) encouraged the federal officials to "take all necessary steps to (ensure) the safety of the American people."
Garcia told Axios, "We're the first, kind of, post-January 6 class. Many of us ran in large part because of what happened.... A lot of us are feeling, obviously, concerned."
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) is worried as well. The Democratic congresswoman told Axios, "We saw what happened on January 6. I think we all need to be alert.... I don't know what's going to happen; I've got no inside track, but I'm concerned people are being stirred up."
Trump has never been shy about resorting to inflammatory rhetoric. Political comedian and "Real Time" host Bill Maher, who fears that the United States is in danger of suffering the type of political violence that rocked Northern Ireland during The Troubles, believes that Trump is sounding like an "end-times religious nut."
Speaking at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the former president told attendees, "I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution."
That is the type of heated rhetoric that has Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-New York) concerned. On March 18, Torres told MSNBC, "He's using the same rhetoric that he did in the lead-up to January 6, and Donald Trump has an ugly history of inciting political violence for his own political self-preservation."