Trump could go to 'maximum security' prison so 'fanatical followers' can’t 'break him out': expert

If convicted in any of his four pending criminal trials, incarcerating former President Donald Trump would present a massive logistical challenge for the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Experts have varying opinions on how a former president of the United States would be imprisoned.

Newsweek recently interviewed four different criminal justice experts who weighed in on how Trump's prison sentence could be handled by the BOP and the US Secret Service (USSS). Because the USSS is required to provide him with a personal security detail for the rest of his life as an ex-president, trial attorney Tray Gober told Newsweek that Trump's incarceration would be "unique."

"In some ways, detaining former President Trump would present authorities with the same concerns that they face whenever a high-profile inmate is sent to jail or prison," Gober said. "It's crucial to ensure that any detention facility adheres to legal standards, offering fair treatment to all inmates, regardless of their status. Providing adequate accommodations for a famous inmate is not about granting them a privilege but about upholding the principles of our justice system."

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In addition to the unprecedented nature of a former American president facing a potential prison sentence, Trump's case would have the added complexity of potentially serving both state and federal sentences. If he's given a guilty verdict in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' RICO case, Trump could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in a Georgia state prison. Trump may also be ordered to serve time in a New York state prison if convicted in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's hush money case. However, if special counsel Jack Smith convicts Trump in either the classified documents trial in Florida or the election interference trial in Washington, DC, Trump would be sent to a federal prison.

Robert Rogers, a former BOP employee who is now an associate professor at Middle Tennessee State University, said Trump may be sentenced to "a maximum-security penitentiary so that none of his fanatical followers could possibly break him out." He added that Trump's life would almost certainly be in danger on a daily basis if he had contact with general population inmates.

"[Trump] would undoubtedly have a number of adoring fans," Rogers said. "However, there would also be inmates who would try to kill him, in spite of Secret Service protection, just to make a name for themselves so that they would go down in history, not as common criminals and losers, but as someone who had killed an American president."

But former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that Trump would more than likely be sent to a "minimum security facility, with no threat of violent inmates."

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"It's impossible to know what prison Trump will be sent to if convicted and a judge actually imposes a sentence of incarceration," he said. "The Bureau of Prisons [BOP] has sole authority in deciding where federal inmates are housed. Judges can make recommendations, but the BOP can ignore them."

Click here to read Newsweek's full report.