(ReliableNews.org) – A Manhattan grand jury voted on March 30 to indict former President Donald Trump. The charges are related to the 45th president’s alleged involvement with an adult film star. Multiple media outlets have described the indictment as the first time a US president has faced criminal charges. That’s not actually true.
In 1872, Metropolitan Police Officer William West was patrolling the area around Washington DC’s M and 13th streets for speeders when he saw a carriage racing toward him. The former slave jumped out in front of it and stopped the vehicle. The man driving the horse-drawn carriage was being driven by President Ulysses S. Grant. Officer West issued the POTUS a warning, telling him that his speeding had set an example for others to do the same. Grant apologized for his behavior and proceeded on.
The day after West issued the president a warning, he stopped another carriage as it was speeding down the road. Once again, he encountered Grant going so fast he had to chase him for an entire block. That time, he did not just issue a warning. According to NPR, the officer told the president he had to arrest him because “duty is duty.”
West later told the Evening Star that Grant looked like a “schoolboy who had been caught in a guilty act by his teacher.”
When Grant was taken to the station, others were uncertain if they could even charge the president since he had not been impeached. Grant didn’t argue with the officer or contest his $20 bond. In fact, he reportedly told people he had respect for West.
Grant is known for his heroic actions during the Civil War. The 18th president also loved racing horses, according to historians. He was caught speeding more than once while he was serving as president.
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