Will Donald Trump face prison time?

Donald Trump could face prison time for being criminally charged for the third time in four months during his run for the presidency in 2024.

Former-President Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, which is punishable by up to five years imprisonment. The charge relates to Trump's alleged "dishonesty, fraud and deceit" in an attempt to obstruct and throw the 2020 presidential election results.

Trump is also facing charges for the conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, which closely relates to the previous charge of conspiracy to defraud the US. This charge is punishable to a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

Another charge, to obstruct and corrupt an official proceeding, also carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Donald Trump is facing charges that relate to corrupting the joint session of Congress, in which Joe Biden was to be certified as the official winner of the 2021 election.

On 6 January 2021, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC, while the 2021 election votes were being counted. Special Council Jack Smith said that the attack on the Capitol was "fuelled by lies" – Donald Trump's lies and propaganda.

In his speech before the storming of the Capitol, Donald Trump has been accused of inciting the large group of rioters.

In his defence, on January 6th, Trump wrote on his Truth Social media site: "I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers."

If Trump is convicted of the charge, conspiracy against rights, he could face with a prison sentence of up to 10 years. This charge relates to the former president attempting to rig the outcome of the 2020 election.

The fourth and largest charge that Trump is facing is conspiracy to defraud the US. Although this charge is only punishable by up to five years imprisonment, conspiracy to defraud the US relates to the breaking of laws that have been put in place to prohibit attempts to obstruct or interfere with government functions by "deceit, craft, trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest".

Again, this charge comes as a response to Trump's alleged use of "dishonesty, fraud and deceit" to obstruct the counting and certifying of Biden's right to presidency in 2020.

It has been deemed "highly likely" by court officials that Trump's attorneys will file a motion to dismiss the case in the coming months, but experts have clarified that it is very rare for a motion to dismiss to be passed in criminal cases.

Experts also predict that Trump's trial date will take place in many months, due to both sides discussing legal issues and reviewing evidence.

Not only is Donald Trump facing charges for recent acts of deceit and fraud, but in March 2024 Trump will be put on the stand in New York for a charge that relates to hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.

Trump is also due to stand trial in Florida in May 2024, in a federal case that stems from the exposure of classified documents being found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Bruce Green, a Fordham University professor, and former prosecutor, told reporters: "The courts will have to decide how to balance the public interest in having expeditious trials against Trump's interest and the public interest in his being able to campaign so that the democratic process works... That's a type of complexity that courts have never had to deal with before."

Other federal prosecutors said that Trump's recent actions were because he was "determined to remain in power".

Kel McClanahan, a National Security Lawyer and George Washington University Law Professor, revealed that the Justice Department will most probably "want to go for incarceration".

Other court officials have also noted that the Justice Department is likely to push for incarceration if Mr Trump is convicted.