DeSantis says recent Trump indictment exemplifies ‘criminalization of politics’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called the indictment against former President Trump in Georgia an example of a “criminalization of politics.”

“I think it’s an example of this criminalization of politics,” DeSantis said while on a press call with New England media. “I don’t think this is something that’s good for the country.” 

DeSantis, also a 2024 presidential candidate, claimed Atlanta has “huge problems with crime right now” and called the city’s approach to crime “less than exacting.” 

“I think there are criminals that they’ve let out that shouldn’t have been let out,” DeSantis said. “And so now they’re doing an inordinate amount of resources to try to shoehorn this contest over the 2020 election into a RICO statute, which was really designed to be able to go after organized crime.” 

A Georgia grand jury handed down a 98-page indictment against Trump and 18 other co-defendants Monday night. The 19 defendants face 41 counts in total, including charges they violated Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for their alleged scheme to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. 

Created in 1970, the federal RICO Act was intended to help fight organized crime. Georgia’s version of the law is broader, making it a crime to participate in, acquire or maintain control of an “enterprise” through a “pattern of racketeering activity” or to conspire to do so.

The law is designed to help prosecutors target people in positions of authority within a criminal organization, not just the low-level henchmen doing the dirty work. In Georgia, conviction for a RICO charge carries a prison term of five to 20 years; a fine of $25,000 or three times the amount of money acquired from the criminal act, whichever is greater; or both a prison sentence and a fine. 

The indictment comes after a years-long investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) into efforts by Trump and allies to intervene in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results — while also arranging a group of 16 Georgia residents to serve as fake electors and claim he actually won the state, not Joe Biden.

DeSantis’s criticism of the Georgia indictment follows his previous comments aimed at the Washington, D.C., jurors who indicted Trump earlier this month for his attempts to remain in power after the 2020 election. DeSantis called the capital city a “swamp” and argued it is unfair to “have to stand trial before a jury that is reflective of the swamp mentality.” 

Despite Trump’s mounting legal battles, he continues to be the front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary while DeSantis trails behind. A Morning Consult poll released Tuesday shows Trump with 57 percent support in the Republican primary and DeSantis with 16 percent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.