Former President Donald Trump was indicted on March 30 by a Manhattan grand jury on 34 counts of falsification of business records.

Criminal charges were unveiled on April 4 as prosecutors accused Trump of participating in a scheme to cover up sex scandals during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty to the 34 charges, according to an article published by The New York Times.

History Professor Gabriel Gorman said all American citizens deserve a fair trial and that no one is above the law.

“If all of this is proven true, then Trump should face legal consequences,” Gorman said. “I favor accountability. If you commit a crime and are found guilty of the crime, then you pay the time.”

Gorman said he is troubled by the divisive political climate of this country.

“Trump knows what to say and write, he knows how to rally his base,” Gorman said. “Sadly, there are members of his base who feel so impassioned that they may take matters into their own hands. Every American deserves a fair trial, even Donald Trump.”

Political Science Professor Elizabeth Huffman said Trump is no stranger to the legal process and added that there are several potential court cases that may play in the future, such as rape charges and his behavior during the 2020 presidential election.

“In the long run, it may be the cumulative effect of these cases that may have the most impact,” Huffman said. “This may well be a test case to see how some of the other legal actions against Trump may fare.”

James Bhond, a 20-year-old art major, said Trump deserved getting indicted and that everything has a consequence. However, Bhond said he thinks Trump may possibly get off.

“I can see him getting off because of his status and the money he has and the lawyers he has, but hopefully he doesn’t,” Bhond said.

Twenty-four-year-old magnetic resonance imaging radiology major James Devera said that criminals should be held accountable in this country no matter who they are and that Trump deserved those charges as long as they are valid.

Devera also said a big factor in whether Trump will be let off the hook on the charges will matter on who will represent him.

“It depends on what lawyer he has, how many times the system can loophole to get around those charges he was given,” Devera said. “I really hope he doesn’t get off. I hope he gets locked for a really long time and is held responsible for what he has done.”

Giovanni Giammona, an 18-year-old fire technology major said that Trump being indicted is a good thing and that he doesn’t think he will get off on any of those charges.

Giammona said the indictment won’t affect the country much.

“I think that there are bigger problems to focus on and I don’t think it will affect the country too much because he wasn’t really involved in running the country right now,” Giammona said.