Can Trump run for president?

All eyes are on former president Donald Trump, who recently warned he “will be arrested.” His statement comes as an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office reaches its end.

The former president made the announcement on his Truth Social account on Mar. 18. The end of his statement said, “The far & away leading Republican candidate and former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week. Protest, take our nation back!”

Trump may face charges for his alleged “hush money” payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The Manhattan grand jury has not yet voted on whether to indict, but WINK News looked into a couple of questions that may be on Americans’ minds right now: Can Trump run for president if he’s indicted? What happens if he’s arrested?

According to legal experts and the U.S. Constitution, criminal charges would not prevent Trump from running for president. Election law expert Stanley Brand told PolitiFact, “There is no bar to running for president while under indictment and nothing that would prevent him serving as president.”

Also, the U.S. Constitution’s qualifications are limited to natural-born citizenship, age (35 by Inauguration Day), and residency in the U.S. of at least 14 years.

Believe it or not, convicted felons have run for president in the past. PolitiFact found Lyndon Larouche was convicted in 1988 of tax and mail fraud conspiracy and ran for president multiple times between 1976 and 2004. In addition, Eugene Debs was convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917, then ran for president in 1920.

If you are following this case, be aware of fake images circulating the internet. For example, these images of Trump being arrested are fakes generated by artificial intelligence.

Even if the former president is indicted, he is not likely to be arrested by law enforcement. Ohio State University law professor Ric Simmons told PolitiFact the more likely scenario is that Trump would surrender.

“‘Arrest’ is still legally the proper term since he will technically be ‘seized’ by the state,” Simmons told PolitiFact. “But it is not what most people think of as an ‘arrest,’ since he is not likely to be captured by law enforcement.”