Narrow majority of Americans say Trump should face criminal charges over Jan 6, new poll finds

52 per cent of Americans want to see the former president criminally charged for encouraging the Capitol riot

A slight majority of Americans believe that former president Donald Trump should face criminal charges for encouraging the 6 January Capitol riot, according toa .new poll.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 52 per cent of Americans want to see the twice-impeached president criminally charged, while just 42 per cent say that he should not be charged with a crime.

Hundreds of participants of Capitol riot have been charged with a range of crimes for their actions on 6 January, when pro-Trump supporters stormed the seat of the US government to disrupt the official ceritification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Mr Trump as of now remains a leading figure in the Republican Party, actively holding rallies, endorsing candidates for office, and leading all recently conducted polls for the party’s 2024 GOP presidential nomination. A number of prominent Republicans who condemned his actions on 6 January, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have said that they will support Mr Trump if he is their nominee again in two years.

But the poll suggests that a majority of Americans believe that Mr Trump committed one or more crimes while in office the first time.

At least one federal judge agrees. Two weeks ago, Judge David Carter ruled in a civil case that Mr Trump “likely attempted to obstruct the joint session of Congress” with his plan to have Vice President Mike Pence determine the outcome of the election.

The judge pointed to a memo written to Mr Pence by Mr Trump’s lawyer John Eastman in which Mr Eastman outlined a plan to seemingly suggest that Mr Pence discard the Electoral College votes of seven states and throw the election to the GOP-controlled US House of Representatives.

“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” Mr Carter wrote.

Mr Eastman testified before the congressional Jan 6 committee, but reportedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during the course of his testimony. The committee, which is made up of seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, reportedly has evidence that Mr Trump obstructed Congress but has not yet agreed to send a criminal complaint to the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department, helmed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is doing its own inquiry into the Capitol riot. It is also investigating Mr Trump for potentially mishandling secret government secret after a number of documents were found at his Florida property.

The composition of Congress and membership of the Jan 6 committee could change considerably next year, with Republicans seemingly poised to make gains in the chamber and one of its Republican members, Adam Kinzinger, retiring after the conclusion of this term.