Shortly after former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of criminal charges in the hush money case on Friday, social media were flooded with his supporters posting inverted US flags as a mark of protest. Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and country music singer Jason Aldean were among the prominent Americans to display the upside down flag.
Trump, who became the first former US President to be convicted of a crime, alleged the trial was "rigged" and driven by politics. Meanwhile, Democrat and US President Joe Biden attacked Trump and other Republicans, saying it was "reckless, dangerous and irresponsible" for anyone to say it was rigged just because "they don't like the verdict".
Donald Trump, 77, will face sentencing on July 11. The jury found Donald Trump, 77, guilty of falsifying business documents after sitting through a six-week trial that featured explicit testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels about a sexual encounter she said she had with him in 2006 while he was married to his current wife Melania Trump.
The former US President has denied ever having sex with Daniels and was expected to appeal the verdict.
Here are the top five developments in Donald Trump's hush money case conviction:
Joe Biden struck out hard at Trump and his supporters for their criticism of the verdict. In his remarks at the White House, he said, "Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself."
The US President further said the case against Trump in New York was brought by the state, that it wasn't a federal case, and the verdict was delivered by "a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you".
Trump came down heavily on the US justice system after his historic conviction as he spoke from his namesake tower in Manhattan in front of dozens of reporters and cameras. Casting himself as a martyr in his unscripted 33-minute speech, he said, "If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone."
"I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to save our country and save our Constitution. I don’t mind," Trump added.
Trump supporters reportedly flooded pro-Trump websites with calls for riots, violent retribution and revolution. Some of his supporters reportedly called for attacks on jurors, execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or civil war and armed insurrection, news agency Reuters reported. Some even suggested armed men need to go to Washington DC and hang everyone, while other posts urged targetting Democrats, in some cases suggesting they be shot.
Donald Trump's campaign raised $53.8 million in donations in 24 hours since his historic conviction. "Biden and his Democrat allies have turned our legal system into a political tool, and Americans from every corner of the country have had enough," Trump campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement.
Donald Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, praised the former US President's impassive demeanour while hearing the hush money verdict on Friday. Speaking to The Associated Press, Blanche said, "I was shocked at how he took the verdict. He just stood there and just kind of took it. And, I think had a lot of appropriate solemnness for the moment that made me very proud to be sitting next to him when it, when it was happening."
