Black People Were the Victims of Weaponized Justice. Now Trump Is One of Us

To formerly incarcerated felons like me in the Black community, Trump’s mug shot made him relatable. His multiple indictments made him worthy of sympathy. But his felony conviction on 34 counts makes him one of us—literally.

I used to be a Black Robin Hood. In the ’80s and ’90s, I stole from white-owned banks to fund political and cultural events designed to educate the Black community in the inner city of Baltimore. Though I was a first-time offender when I was caught and no one was hurt during any of my crimes, thanks to Joe Biden‘s 1994 crime bill, I got an unheard of 52 years in prison. And thanks to Donald Trump‘s 2019 First Step Act, I was released from prison. Now, the same criminal justice system that was weaponized against me and other Black Americans—a justice system that Trump reformed—is being used to keep Trump from winning the presidency for a second time.

Last Thursday, former President Donald Trump was found guilty of accounting entries that constituted falsifying documents in order to influence the 2016 election. This is the first time a former president and current presidential candidate has ever been convicted of a felony. If he defeats Biden, he’ll be the very first sitting president to be a convicted felon. This will be an unbelievable first.

But we in the African-American community have seen leaders receive felony convictions or imprisonment due to their political beliefs, affiliations, and actions all our lives. We’ve seen Black activists, politicians, and public figures investigated, tried, and convicted far too many times—Martin and Malcolm were just the most notable.

This tactic is now being used on Trump—invoking the legal system to punish unpopular political beliefs and actions. But it isn’t new to Black Americans, and it certainly isn’t new to me.

Like many Black political activists, I know too well the difference between being prosecuted for committing a crime and being persecuted for advocating a political agenda that doesn’t have a place in the mainstream.

I know too well what Trump felt when people he thought were his friends and allies turned out to be informers and agents working against him. I know it well and so do too many people in my community. We know the sting and heartbreak Trump must have felt listening to Michael Cohen take the stand and testify; for me, it was like reliving my own trial again. Cohen, like the informant in my case, was a thief and liar without any credibility—until, of course, he decided to turn state’s witness. Then suddenly everything he said was treated as the Gods’ honest truth.

I lived that!

Judge Merchan’s jury instructions seemed to me to make it clear to the judge that their job was to convict, regardless of the evidence and law. Like many Black Americans, I’ve heard similar instructions which were similarly weighted against myself and my people.

Black leaders and Black citizens know the difference between a criminal prosecution and a political persecution. Now, Donald Trump knows the difference as well. His America First agenda is considered radical, violent, and bigoted by the elite. He is viewed today in the same light as past Black leaders and activists—radical, violent, and bigoted.

In the past, white Americans turned a blind eye to the unconstitutional weaponization of law enforcement and the judicial system against Black political, social, and public leaders who ran afoul of the power structure. White America said nothing when the criminal justice system was weaponized against Black Americans for selling and using drugs and guns that were dumped into our communities by the government. It didn’t matter to the broader American electorate that the 1994 crime bill was based on the unconstitutional concept of “crime control” instead of due process.

But now that same “crime control” approach is being unleashed on the America First movement and its leader, Donald Trump.

I hope that all Americans learn the lesson Trump’s conviction teaches, a lesson that was taught by the late James Baldwin when he said in a letter to Angela Davis: “If they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us at night.”

Black Americans were the first victims of a weaponized justice system. Now Trump is one of us.

Craig Scott of McKain Entertainment Network is a formerly incarcerated actor, militant activist and filmmaker.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

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