Trump can run for president again after being cleared of inciting deadly US Capitol riots

Former US president Donald Trump has been cleared of inciting the deadly Capitol Hill riots at his impeachment trial.

House Democrats, who voted a month ago to charge Mr Trump with ‘incitement of insurrection’, needed two thirds of the senate, or 67 votes, to convict him.

The Democrats and their independent supporters hold 50 of the senate’s seats.

Just seven of the 50 Republican senators broke ranks to find Trump guilty, resulting in a vote of 57-43.

It means Trump is now free to run for office again in three years if he wishes to.

Trump has previously vowed to return to the White House and said in a statement after the trial that his movement ‘has only just begun’.

‘Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun,’ he said.

‘In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people.

‘There has never been anything like it!’

Five people died after a mob laid siege to the Capitol on January 6, including a police officer.

Democrats argued that Trump caused the violent attack by repeating for months the false claims that the November 2020 election was stolen from him,

During the trial they repeatedly played footage of him telling supporters to go to the US Capitol to ‘fight’ Joe Biden’s election win hours before the violence erupted.

Impeachment managers Jamie Raskin and Ted Lieu, said Trump knew full-well that his speech would trigger chaos, and that he had shown no remorse for the ensuing riot that killed five.

Given the chance to hold office in the future, they argued, Trump would not hesitate to encourage political violence again.

Trump’s lawyers argued that the rioters acted on their own accord and that the former president was protected by freedom of speech, an argument that resonated with most Republicans.

They said the case was brought on by Democrats’ ‘hatred’ of Trump and described the trial as an ‘unconstitutional witch-hunt’.

During Friday’s hearing, Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen played footage of Democrat politicians calling for ‘unrest’ and ‘uprisings’.

He also shared a clip of Vice President Kamala Harris appearing to joke about killing Trump in an elevator.

Van der Veen argued that since those remarks were protected by people’s right to free speech, Trump’s pre-riot speech was too.

After the verdict was delivered, he was seen fist-bumping a colleague as he departed the Capitol and joked to reporters: ‘We’re going to Disney World!’

Trump is the only president to be impeached twice. He was last tried in early 2020 for allegedly abusing his office by trying to get Ukrainian prosecutors to probe Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The defiant 74-year-old branded the second trial ‘a sad commentary on our times’ and claimed the Democrats had been given a ‘free pass to transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree’.

He thanked his attorneys and his defenders in the House and Senate, who he said ‘stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.’

He added: ‘I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honourably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate.

‘No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago.’

Only one Republican – Mitt Romney – broke ranks to convict Trump at his first impeachment trial.

He voted again for impeachment on Saturday along with fellow Republicans Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Ben Sasse, Pat Toomey, and Lisa Murkowski.

Many of the Republicans who voted to acquit Trump are believed to have done so over fears of a backlash from voters in their home states in the 2022 mid-term elections.

Trump remains hugely popular with many Republican voters, who would likely take a dim view of senators from their own party voting to convict him.

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell offered scathing remarks about the former president after the verdict.

He said he voted to acquit him at the impeachment trial because he believes the Senate had no jurisdiction over a former president.

‘There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,’ he said. ‘The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.’

Trump is said to have watched some of his latest trial from his home in West Palm Beach, Florida.

He was seen golfing on Thursday while the trial took place.

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