Trump Pleads Not Guilty to Jan. 6 Charges

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to all four charges in federal prosecutors’ Tuesday indictment.

The Details: After federal prosecutors called for a “speedy trial,” a judge set the date of the first hearing in the case for August 28 — just 5 days after the first GOP presidential debate. Trump’s lawyer called the push for a speedy trial “absurd” and said the charges amounted to “election interference.”

For Context: Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. The charges relate to Trump and his allies’ actions following the 2020 presidential election, including the January 6 Capitol riot. 

How the Media Covered It: The story was prominently featured by major news sources across the spectrum, with CNN (Lean Left bias) adding a special “The Arrest and Arraignment of Donald Trump” graphic at the top of its homepage. Coverage displayed a partisan split in its descriptions; while CNN highlighted that “over 1,000 Trump supporters who participated in the insurrection” had appeared at the courthouse where Trump pleaded not guilty, Fox News (Right bias) attributed Trump’s investigation to Special Counsel Jack Smith and highlighted that Trump was “the 2024 GOP front-runner.”