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Donald J. Trump on Tuesday joined Ulysses S. Grant on a list I’m sure he’d rather not be on—the only presidents of the United States to have been arrested. Trump surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office Tuesday and later pled not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Grant’s crime over 150 years ago was much simpler—he was speeding. Not in a car, mind you, but while competing against his friends in a horse and buggy race. And, it turns out he was a repeat offender:
Ulysses S. Grant, who had an eye for spirited horses and an apparent yen to test their mettle, was arrested in 1872 for speeding on a street in Washington, where he had been driving a two-horse carriage. It was the second time in two days that the policeman had stopped the president; the first time, the officer had issued him a warning.
The press didn’t even report the story at the time; it didn’t become public until 1908 when the Sunday Star of Washington interviewed the then-retired officer, a black man named William West who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
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Keith Boykin @keithboykin
The only other time in history a U.S. President was arrested was in 1872. William H. West, a Black police officer, arrested President Ulysses S. Grant for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage. “Duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest.”
POLICEMAN WEST Tells the Story of Gen. Grant’s Arrest in 1872 for Fast Driving – President Was Satisfied to Go to the Station House – Gave $20 Collateral, Which Was Forfeited – Declared the Policeman Commended for His Attention to Duty, and Would Not Allow the Man to Suffer for Arresting Him – The General’s Love for Horses and His Pleasure in Driving Were the Cause of His Trouble – In After Years Was Always Genial and Friendly to the Colored Policeman.
Grant was actually impressed by the officer, seeing as “he admired a man who did his duty,” and didn’t hold a grudge:
[Grant and his friends] all had to put up $20 in bail — what was described in the news account as “collateral” — a sum that would be equivalent today to about $500.
The president, who had “the look of a schoolboy who had been caught in a guilty act by his teacher,” was good-natured about the arrest, according to the news account. He even drove Officer West in his carriage to the police station, where his arrest was processed.
Trump’s arrest is the closest thing we have to a historical comparison. However, unlike Grant, he most certainly is holding a grudge against his accuser, Manhattan Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He made his feelings known on Truth Social Tuesday morning:
While Grant’s speeding episode seems quaint and humorous after all these years, there’s nothing funny about Trump’s arrest and indictment. It’s sure to have far-reaching consequences which will be felt for years. In Grant’s case, an officer saw the president clearly violating a law; in Trump’s case, Bragg started with a conclusion that the ex-president was guilty and worked backward to find the crime.
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RELATED ARTICLE
BREAKING: Trump Enters Plea in NYC Courtroom, Indictment Unsealed
BY ATHENA THORNE | P J MEDIA
AP Photo/Bryan Woolston
In a historic first of shredded norms and judicial weaponization — at least in the formerly exceptional United States — a former president and current front-running presidential candidate has been arraigned on criminal charges.
Donald Trump arrived in New York City on Monday to face charges conjured up by Soros-backed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg through a grand jury process in the near-universally Trump-hating city. The former president spent the night in his luxurious upscale quarters in the landmark Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.
On Tuesday, the former president reported to the DA’s office and courthouse at 100 Centre Street to be fingerprinted and processed just before 2 p.m. In a blow to slavering leftists everywhere, the coveted mugshot was not taken. Democrats and Trump Derangement sufferers had been expected to use the image for historic purposes reflecting the seriousness of the charges and the gravitas of the situation, such as printed toilet tissue, dart boards, “Trump for Prison 2024” t-shirts, and similar hate aids. Nor was the once-and-possibly-future president handcuffed, most likely because his Secret Service detail pointed out that it would be ludicrous to handcuff a man surrounded by Secret Service agents.
From there, the front-running Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race appeared before New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan at 2:29 p.m. The historic charges that are serious enough to warrant turning the United States into a banana republic and dividing her citizens against one another were finally unsealed. They included 34 counts of falsification of business records, which is a misdemeanor in New York State but which Bragg had tortured into felonies. It is extremely unusual for a single alleged crime to be split into 34 separate charges, explained an expert who had been briefed on the situation. “For example, when a shoplifter steals six handbags, she will only be charged with one count of larceny.” But here we are.
Trump pleaded not guilty, was deemed not to be a flight risk, and was released. He immediately headed for LaGuardia Airport to return to Free Florida, where he is scheduled to hold a rally this evening.
The historic charges stem from what can most accurately be described as a routine payment to secure a non-disclosure agreement from a nuisance claimant, such as corporations, celebrities, and officials pay out every day. For example, tens of millions of taxpayer dollars have been paid out in “hush money schemes” (as Leftists call the process when a Republican does it) to protect members of Congress and other capital agencies and employees from claims of sexual harassment as well as discrimination and retaliation.
Trump’s attorneys are expected to launch multiple challenges to the prosecution, likely beginning with a motion for dismissal. If that is denied, the Trump team is expected to request a change of venue to Staten Island, given that in 2020 Trump won a mere 12% of the vote in overwhelmingly left-wing Manhattan. With additional motions and challenges, the Trump team could delay a trial until well past the 2024 election.
Trump has denied having an affair with Stephanie Clifford, who goes by her professional porn actress name of Stormy Daniels. It is unclear why Trump, who is a notorious germaphobe, would have desired any sort of intimate contact with a person who acts as a biological fluids receptacle for a living.
