Coconino News

Arizona Rep. Austin Smith utilized platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to reaffirm his support of former President Trump following his third indictment, as he vies for the Republican presidential nominee spot for 2024. 

"It’s not about the man. It’s about what they’ve done to half the country by extension. Trump 2024," Smith wrote on X.

Reports emerged Tuesday of the indictment, which stems from his alleged involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol following the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump maintains his innocence, while his supporters contend that the indictments are merely an effort to hinder his potential return to the presidency, according to PBS News.

In March, Trump encountered his initial indictment from the Manhattan district attorney, marking the first instance in history that a former U.S. president faced criminal charges. These charges were in relation to state-level accusations of falsifying business records. Later, in June, the Justice Department presented a subsequent indictment, comprising 40 federal counts, which revolve around his alleged mishandling of sensitive documents, according to PBS News.

"No matter how bad you think this disgraceful bogus indictment is, it’s worse," columnist Kurt Schlichter said in a post on the X platform. "It’s 45 pages of First Amendment-protected activity broken up by four captions listing conspiracy statutes that do not apply. It’s not a conspiracy to use free speech and attempt to participate in the political system no matter how badly our garbage elite wants it to be. That’s not even mentioning that. The conduct alleged is conduct the Democrats have participated in within recent years."

"Joe Biden has weaponized the DOJ to remove President Trump from the ballot because he knows that he can’t beat Trump at the ballot box," former candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake in a post on the X platform. "It's not going to work. We have your back, Mr. President."

In June, following Trump's second indictment, Arizona Rep. David Marshall joined forces with other Republican colleagues to release a joint statement expressing their disapproval. The statement included the signatures of 12 fellow Republicans, according to X.

"We condemn the politically-motivated and unprecedented prosecution of former President Trump", the statement by the Arizona House of Representatives reads, according to a platform X post. "The stated mission of the Department of Justice is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. Under the Biden administration, the federal government has instead interfered in elections, censored speech to influence public opinion, and today uses a federal indictment to attack a political opponent for purely political gain. It is unsurprising that Americans have lost confidence in the DOJ, FBI, and other federal agencies."