Former President Donald Trump warned Thursday that if he is criminally indicted, there will be “big problems,” an allusion to street violence that the former president did not reject. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said of a possible impeachment: “I don’t think the people of the United States would support it.” He added: “I think you would have problems in this country, the likes of which we have perhaps never seen before.” Trump’s remarks come more than a month after federal authorities searched the Mar-a-Lago estate as part of their investigation into his handling of government documents — more than 100 documents recovered were classified. Following the news of the FBI investigation into his Florida residence, there were new calls among conservative groups and his supporters for a civil war in the country. In the charged atmosphere, Trump had warned that the country was “in a dangerous place” and that Americans were “not going to put up with another fraud,” rhetoric that both fueled the anger of his supporters and smoothed over the possibility of unprovoked violence. the. In Thursday’s radio interview, Hewitt expressed the possibility that his comments could be taken as condoning violence. Trump responded: “That’s not inflammatory. I’m just stating my opinions. I don’t think people are going to support that.” Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, blasted the former president’s latest remarks Thursday as “reckless” and added that “inflammatory rhetoric has consequences.” Political scientists have warned that the US could see violence similar to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol that left seven dead and more than 140 police officers injured. “When you have politicians who are pissing everyone off and law enforcement who are responding somewhat pious or weak, then I think you have a really volatile mix that encourages these kinds of groups to continue what they’re doing. “Carole Emberton, a University at Buffalo history professor who specializes in the American Civil War, said in a previous interview with Insider. The Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s handling of government records comes amid several other investigations into the former president. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is conducting a criminal investigation into whether Trump and his associates attempted to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 election results. New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a political investigation into the Trump Organization and its business practices . And a House select committee is investigating Trump’s role in the attack on the US Capitol. Trump told Hewitt in the interview that he did nothing wrong and believes the Justice Department will not indict him. He also added that an indictment against him is “no bar” to running for president in 2024. Legal experts told Insider that technically Trump could still run for president even if he is indicted, convicted and put behind bars. The constitution only requires presidential candidates to be at least 35 years old and be natural-born US citizens.
