Donald Trump has not been charged with treason. Political opponents, advocacy groups, and some legal scholars have accused him of it at various points, but no federal or state prosecutor has ever brought a treason indictment against him, and the crime’s constitutional definition is so narrow that treason prosecutions of any American are almost unheard of in modern times.
Why Treason Charges Are So Rare
Treason is the only crime defined in the U.S. Constitution itself. Article III, Section 3 says it “shall consist only in levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”1Legal Information Institute. Treason Clause Doctrine and Practice Conviction requires either the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or a confession in open court. The Framers wrote it this way after watching the British Crown use treason charges to eliminate political dissidents.
Courts have kept the definition tight. In Ex parte Bollman (1807), the Supreme Court held that “levying war” requires an actual assemblage of people for a treasonable purpose; a conspiracy to overthrow the government is not enough by itself.2FindLaw. Article III Annotations In Cramer v. United States (1945), the Court ruled that giving aid and comfort to an enemy must involve a concrete deed and a demonstrated intent to betray.1Legal Information Institute. Treason Clause Doctrine and Practice
The results speak for themselves. Congress has brought treason charges only about 30 times in U.S. history.2FindLaw. Article III Annotations Since 1954, only one person has been indicted: Adam Gadahn, an American who appeared in al-Qaeda propaganda videos, was charged in 2006 and killed in a drone strike before trial.3National Constitution Center. Does the Treason Clause Still Matter Federal prosecutors long ago moved to alternatives like the Espionage Act and material-support statutes, which do not carry the two-witness requirement.
January 6 and the Charges Prosecutors Actually Brought
The Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, revived public discussion of treason. Carlton F.W. Larson, a UC Davis law professor and one of the country’s leading authorities on the treason clause, argued that supporters who physically stormed the Capitol to stop certification of the election had a plausible case for having “levied war” against the United States. Applying that framework to Trump himself, scholars noted, would require proving he knew in advance that supporters planned a violent assault, intended his “fight” language to spur an immediate attack, and purposefully failed to stop it.4The New Yorker. Did Donald Trump and His Supporters Commit Treason An Arizona Law Review analysis observed that while the “popular press has repeatedly suggested that Trump might have committed treason,” the legal threshold remained exceptionally high for someone who “allegedly goaded” rather than personally carried out the violence.5Arizona Law Review. Treason and January 6
Prosecutors chose different statutes. For the most culpable participants, they used seditious conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 2384), which criminalizes conspiracies to overthrow the government or obstruct federal law by force. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Federal Judge Amit Mehta called Rhodes “an ongoing threat and peril to this country…and to the very fabric of our democracy.”6NPR. Trump Jan 6 Capitol Riot Seditious Conspiracy Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and other members of both groups were also convicted.7PBS NewsHour. DOJ Moves to Erase Seditious Conspiracy Convictions
Trump himself faced four federal charges from Special Counsel Jack Smith in August 2023: conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.8U.S. Department of Justice. Report of Special Counsel Smith, Volume 1 Treason was not among them. Smith moved to dismiss the case in November 2024, after Trump won the presidential election, citing the Justice Department position that a sitting president cannot face federal criminal prosecution.9WTTW News. Special Counsel Moves to Dismiss Election Interference Case
The subsequent trajectory of the seditious conspiracy cases moved in the opposite direction. In January 2025, Trump commuted the prison sentences of more than 1,500 people charged in the Capitol attack, including Rhodes and Tarrio.7PBS NewsHour. DOJ Moves to Erase Seditious Conspiracy Convictions On April 14, 2026, the Justice Department filed motions with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the convictions of 12 Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members, signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and described as being “in the interests of justice.”10NPR. Justice Department Toss Seditious Conspiracy The motions remain pending.
What the Two Impeachments Alleged
Article II, Section 4 lists “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” as grounds for removing a president. Neither of Trump’s impeachments invoked treason by name.
The first, in December 2019, charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over a July 2019 call in which he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son. The call came shortly after the administration blocked roughly $391 million in military aid to Ukraine. The Senate acquitted him in February 2020, 52–48 on abuse of power and 53–47 on obstruction of Congress.11BBC News. Trump Impeachment Ukraine
The second, in January 2021, charged a single article: incitement of insurrection, alleging Trump “willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged—and foreseeably resulted in—lawless action at the Capitol.”12Congress.gov. Impeachment and the Constitution The Senate voted 57–43 to convict, ten votes short of the two-thirds needed for removal. Seven Republican senators voted guilty: Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey.13NPR. Senate Acquits Trump in Impeachment Trial, Again
The 14th Amendment Disqualification Effort
Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment bars from office anyone who previously swore an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”14Congress.gov. 14th Amendment Section 3 It was written for former Confederates and drew renewed interest after January 6.
In late 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump was disqualified under Section 3 and ordered his removal from the 2024 presidential primary ballot.15Legal Information Institute. Trump v. Anderson and Enforcement of the Insurrection Clause The U.S. Supreme Court reversed unanimously in Trump v. Anderson on March 4, 2024, holding that states cannot enforce Section 3 against federal officeholders and that only Congress may do so through legislation.16Lawfare. What the Supreme Court Got Wrong in the Trump Section 3 Case The Court did not decide whether January 6 was an insurrection or whether Trump had engaged in one.
Second-Term Accusations Running Both Ways
After Trump returned to office in January 2025, the word “treason” surfaced in two directions.
Groups Accusing Trump
Free Speech for People, a legal advocacy organization, launched a campaign alleging Trump was committing treason by “levying war against the United States” through military deployments against civilians in American cities.17Free Speech For People. Trump Treason Article: Impeach and Remove The group cited National Guard deployments to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Memphis, and Portland beginning in mid-2025, many over the objections of state and local leaders.18The New York Times. Federal Courts National Guard Trump
Federal courts pushed back on some of those deployments. In Chicago, U.S. District Judge April Perry blocked federalized Guard troops in Illinois, the Seventh Circuit upheld her order, and the Supreme Court rejected the administration’s effort to stay it in December 2025.19SCOTUSblog. Trump Administration and Lawyers for Illinois and Chicago Battle Over Presidents Deployment of the National Guard A federal court in California found Guard actions violated the Posse Comitatus Act, and a federal court in Oregon described the administration’s posture as “martial law.”20Supreme Court of the United States. Chicago National Guard Brief None of those rulings characterized the conduct as treason.
On December 10, 2025, Representative Al Green of Texas introduced H.Res. 939, a formal impeachment resolution with two articles: abuse of presidential power by calling for the execution of members of Congress, and abuse of presidential power to intimidate federal judges.21GovInfo. H.Res. 939 Full Text There was no treason article. The resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
Trump Accusing Lawmakers
In November 2025, six Democratic members of Congress with military or intelligence backgrounds released a video advising service members they can and must refuse illegal orders. The lawmakers were Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, and Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, and Chrissy Houlahan.22NBC News. FBI Seeks Interviews With Six Democrats Trump Accused of Seditious Behavior
Trump called the lawmakers “traitors” on social media, said their conduct was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” and wrote that they should be “ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL” and that their behavior was “punishable by DEATH!” He also reposted a message reading “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!”23Free Speech For People. New Call for Impeaching Trump Following Threats to Execute Members of Congress The White House later said the president was “not threatening death.”24PBS NewsHour. Trump Says Democrats Should Be Arrested
The FBI counterterrorism division opened an inquiry, and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington requested interviews with the six.22NBC News. FBI Seeks Interviews With Six Democrats Trump Accused of Seditious Behavior The Department of Defense separately launched a review of Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth censured him and attempted to retroactively reduce his rank and retirement pay; Kelly sued.25ABC News. Democratic Sen. Slotkin Federal Investigation
On February 10, 2026, a Washington, D.C. grand jury declined to indict any of the six.26PBS NewsHour. Grand Jury Refuses to Charge Lawmakers Over Illegal Orders Video Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski called the accusations of treason and sedition “reckless and flat-out wrong,” and constitutional scholars noted the lawmakers’ statements were likely protected by the Speech or Debate Clause, which shields members of Congress for actions within the legislative sphere.22NBC News. FBI Seeks Interviews With Six Democrats Trump Accused of Seditious Behavior
Across January 6, the two impeachments, the disqualification cases, and the second-term deployments, no charging authority has ever moved forward with a treason count against Trump. Nor, on the other side, has any been brought against the Democratic lawmakers he accused of it.