Letters to the Editor: If Donald Trump is arrested, brace for violent blowback
To the editor: I can think of few things that would please me more than the former president serving a lengthy prison term. But let’s get real. Where in this country will you find 12 individuals, plus alternates, to serve on an impartial jury? (“Trump should be charged for crimes against the United States,” editorial, July 24)
And suppose the former president is found guilty. What then? He could not be incarcerated in any mainline institution. Do you lock up his security detail as well? Would we have to build a prison just for him?
And heaven help us if he is found not guilty. The reactionary goon squads will wreak death and destruction across the land, much like fans celebrating their sports team’s victory.
So prosecute the ex-president’s lackeys and sycophants to show future recruits what awaits them. Name the treasonous sociopath as an unindicted conspiracist. But let’s not glorify him by charging him and attempting a trial.
David Middleton, Rancho Mirage
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To the editor: There is no doubt that former President Trump is guilty of conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding. He plotted an insurrection and dishonored the Constitution he swore to uphold.
Sadly, millions of Americans still believe Trump won the 2020 election. Many are willing to take up arms.
If Trump is found guilty, the country would experience a second civil war. His followers have demonstrated their willingness to do his bidding.
There are an estimated 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S., and nearly 20 million of them are AR-15-style rifles. Are those trying to uphold the Constitution prepared to go to war to retain this democracy?
Don Evans, Canoga Park
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To the editor: Treason is the crime Trump and many others have committed. They must all be charged and tried if we are to retain any semblance of a country that is ruled by the law, not people.
I see civil war no matter what we do. The only solution I see for peace is for California to become its own country.
Sue Nash, Idyllwild
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To the editor: Trump’s crimes against the United States doesn’t stop with the horrors of his attempted coup on Jan. 6. There have been and still are issues he continues to propagate.
Still being investigated are lawmakers in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico who fraudulently posed as electors and actually signed fake certificates claiming to be the real electors. Between them there would have been 84 votes overturning the will of millions of voters.
Reporting by the Arizona Republic showed former Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani along with his advisors tried but failed to get Republicans in Arizona to replace the state’s 11 electors. We know Giuliani and Trump were always in close contact. Just what Trump knew about this plot is another question that must be answered.
Diane Welch, Huntington Beach
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To the editor: Three presidents to date have been impeached — Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump — but not convicted by the Senate. Richard Nixon escaped impeachment by resigning.
I’d suggest that none of the actions of Johnson, Clinton or Nixon, despicable as their misdeeds were, approaches what Trump did in office and continues to do.
The question arises: What exactly does a president have to do to face actual criminal charges?
Randall Henderson, Valley Village
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To the editor: Your editorial clearly identifies Trump’s crimes, but I suggest something else needs to be considered.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump complained that the election would be rigged. He planted the seed then that would grow into widespread doubt about a future election.
In 2020, he repeated the lie and sold it to millions of people. Now the “Big Lie” is and has been used by his followers as justification for changing the laws in many states to allow the popular vote to be disregarded.
The election of 2020 wasn’t stolen, but free and fair elections in this country are in serious jeopardy. That’s criminal.
Maurice Garcia, Newbury Park
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To the editor: I am a Vietnam-era veteran (an Army medic), and I was opposed to that war before and during my service. I was honorably discharged in 1969. I was proud then and am proud now of my actions.
One week ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I think I have between two and seven months to live.
Please help me retain my pride, my belief in our country, and my belief in the humanity and goodness of Americans and our elected officials by letting me see that the U.S. attorney general has charged Trump.
Gerald Stussman, Thousand Oaks
