Former President Trump compared himself to infamous mob boss Al Capone on Sunday, noting Capone was indicted once but that Trump now faces four criminal indictments.
At a campaign rally in Reno, Nev., Trump railed against the indictments — two of which were brought at the federal level and two at the state level — claiming they are “over bullshit” and are 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 bullshit, 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 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.”