Former President Donald J. Trump is currently facing four separate criminal indictments in four separate jurisdictions with a total of 91 felony counts.
Trump has denied all charges, saying that they are “going after me for nothing,” according to a recent statement to Newsmax.
Cosumnes River College political science professor Elizabeth Huffman said the development is unprecedented.
“Especially with four cases that test the laws in different ways,” Huffman said. “There’s federal law, there’s state law, there’s new applications law. I can’t think of a parallel.”
The circumstances facing Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, prompted strong opinions from many students and staff.
“As much as I disagree with Trump, he has a lot of charisma and he’s able to convince those around him to do his dirty work,” said history professor Gabriel Gorman. “He’s gotten away with quite a bit all his life. This is different though. He’s not going to be able to use the delay tactic and rack up the bill.”
Izzie Montoya, 31, a construction management major, said he felt that to be indicted, Trump must have done something wrong.
“Someone is accusing him of something, for him to be in that situation,” Montoya said. “He has to be accountable for his actions.”

On Aug. 24, Trump surrendered himself in Atlanta on his most recent case of 2020 Election Subversion for which he and 18 allies face 41 criminal charges.
“It’s very long overdue. I think that we’ve all known that he weaponizes his power,” said Marquis Hardman, 19, a psychology major and Umoja student leader. “It’s about time.”
Trump and his supporters have been vocal and adamant that the 2020 presidential election that placed President Joe Biden in office was stolen, despite a lack of evidence to support such claims.
Gorman said that he thinks Trump could believe his own lies because he is a habitual liar and habitual liars sometimes believe their own lies.
“I think that there is a fragment that believes the election was stolen, as a lot of his followers do,” Gorman said. “But he also knew that what he was promoting and what those around him were promoting were complete lies. He knows that.”
The turn of events hasn’t affected Trump’s standing within his own party. A recent poll from Marist Poll said that 76% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have a favorable opinion of the former president.
“I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s a lot. I don’t know what I could say to stick up for the guy,” said Maeghan Graddy, 18, an undeclared major. “I know a lot of people will be on his side because he’s not a good person but he is a businessman.”
Although Trump faces jail time if convicted in any of the four cases, nothing in our current constitution says that he couldn’t run for president or lead the country while incarcerated.
This ambiguity has prompted many to fear an impending constitutional crisis.
Gorman said that were Trump elected president in 2024, the country would be in crisis mode.
“We really are in unprecedented times. It’s really scary,” Gorman said.
Jose Vargas, 18, a psychology major, said that wouldn’t be to let Trump run for office if he’s convicted.
“There are people who go to prison and become convicts and can’t even vote any more,” Vargas said. “Why would we let one run?”
Despite not knowing what lies ahead for American Democracy, Gorman said he still believes in a system of justice.
“Our constitution survived the Jan. 6 insurrection. Our constitution has survived other crises,” Gorman said. “I think it will survive this as well.”