Trump notes he was indicted more times than the ‘great’ Al Capone
Donald Trump sits at the defense table at New York Supreme Court, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Pool)
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(The Hill) — Former President Trump on Sunday compared himself to infamous mob boss Al Capone, noting Capone was indicted once but that Trump now faces four criminal indictments.
At a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada Sunday evening, Trump railed against the indictments – two of which were brought at the federal level and two at the state level – calling them “bulls—” and claiming they were politically motivated.
“Did anybody ever hear of the great Alphonse Capone, Al Capone, great, great head of the mafia, right? Mean, Scarface. He had a scar that went from here to here, and he didn’t mind at all. But he was a rough guy,” Trump said to the crowd of his supporters.
“Now, I heard he was indicted once – a couple of people told me a few times more – but I was indicted four times,” Trump added.
Trump underscored how dangerous Capone was – seemingly to make the point that his indictments are unjust.
“If he had dinner with you and if he didn’t like the way you smiled at him at dinner, he would kill you. You’d be dead. By the time you walked out of the nice restaurant, you would be dead,” Trump said of Capone. “He got indicted once. I got indicted four times.”
“Over bulls—, I got indicted,” Trump added.
Trump faces four criminal indictments. Special counsel Jack Smith brought two federal indictments against Trump, one related to his efforts to remain in power following the 2020 presidential election and one related to his alleged willful retention of national defense information, by repeatedly refusing to give back government documents. He also faces a criminal indictment in New York and one in Georgia.
In his remarks Sunday, Trump claimed that the indictments were not just about him, but were about his supporters.
“Never forget: Our enemies want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom. That’s what I do. They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you,” Trump said. “And in the end they are not after me. They’re after you. And I just happened to be standing in their way. I am in their way.”