The betting among political observers has been that if anyone running for president is indicted that person would be Hillary Clinton. Now, however, it looks like the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina is contemplating charging Donald Trump or his campaign for inciting a riot. The possible charge stems from an incident during a campaign rally in which Trump supporter 78-year-old John McGraw allegedly assaulted a protestor named Rakeem Jones during a Trump rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. McGraw is also quoted as threatening to kill Jones if he saw him again.
McGraw is in police custody awaiting multiple charges related to the incident, which was caught on video.
The theory behind the idea of charging Trump is that some of his campaign rhetoric could be considered provocative, motivating some of his more fervent supporters to attack protestors. Trump rallies have been the target of violent protests, with one event in Chicago having to be cancelled due to threats of violence. In another incident in Ohio, a man rushed the stage of a Trump speech and had to be restrained by the Secret Service.
That a criminal prosecution of a political candidate for something he said would be explosive would be to put the matter mildly. An indictment would be a double edged sword.
On the one hand, Ted Cruz would have something to talk about Donald Trump is so out of control that law enforcement has become concerned. What Cruz would say is nothing compared to what Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, sharpening their knives for the general election, would do.
On the other hand, an indictment would give Trump talking pints as well.
See; the establishment will stop at nothing, even misusing the courts, to keep me out of the presidency. That the sheriff in question is a Democrat would buttress the meme of a conspiracy. Trump could claim that Bernie Sanders supporters are attacking his campaign events and yet that candidate gets off without so much as a warning.
The punditry is suggesting that an actual criminal indictment is not in the cards. They are probably right. But, the current election cycle has been so strange that the best bet is to expect the unexpected.
