Trump Faces Potential Charges in Voting Fraud and Jan. 6 Investigation

Federal prosecutors investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have suggested in a target letter that they could charge former President Donald Trump with violating a civil rights statute, Section 241 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which makes it a crime to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. This potential charge is in addition to the familiar charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and obstruction of an official proceeding. The use of this civil rights law raises the possibility that Trump could face prosecution for his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss by trying to rig the election himself.