Can felons attend Donald Trump rallies?

Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump is officially a convicted felon, a fresh status that promises to cause issues in the 77-year-old’s life.

Somehow, his status as a felon doesn’t disqualify Trump from running for office, but it does disqualify him from several vital rights typically extended to any American citizen. These include purchasing or owning a firearm — something Trump and his ilk see as an inalienable human right — receiving certain loans, and, hilariously, the right to vote. So, when the time comes around to vote for our next president, convicted felon Trump will be on the ballot, but he won’t be able to enter the booth and vote for himself.

There’s another restriction passed down to convicted felons that could introduce a fresh hurdle in Trump’s constant personality tours across the nation. Now that he’s been handed a guilty conviction on those 34 counts, Trump isn’t supposed to share space or be in contact with other convicted felons — so how will that affect his rallies going forward?

Can convicted felons attend the events of another convicted felon?

A felony conviction is a serious matter. When his guilty verdicts came down, Donald Trump became the first former president, and the first presidential candidate, with a felony conviction under his belt. As such, his current bid for office is thoroughly unprecedented — and unpresidential — but those guilty charges aren’t enough to stop the bullheaded 77-year-old from running.

They could be enough to prevent some of his followers from attending those rambling Trump rallies, however. In United States law, felons are sternly discouraged — and even disallowed, in certain settings — from coming into contact with other felons. If its an accidental crossing of paths, it is of course excused, but felons are not to knowingly engage with other felons.

Its not like Trump’s guilty verdict is a secret, which means that anyone attending a Trump rally is well aware of his new Criminal-in-Chief status. As such, any Trump fans with a felony conviction on their record are technically disallowed from attending his events.

There’s plenty of leeway that would likely see both Trump and any of his felonious fans walk away with little more than a slap on the wrist if they were ever discovered, but it’s a curious development in the strange new reality we find ourselves in. United States Courts advises those with felonies on their record that “If you know someone has been convicted of a felony, you must not knowingly communicate or interact with that person without first getting the permission of the probation officer.”

This is encouraged by the U.S. legal system as a means to prevent the emergence of repeat offenders, something that has increased likelihood among groups of previous lawbreakers. There’s nothing on this planet that could prevent Trump from engaging in criminal activity if he felt like it, however, so no matter how many felons attend his rallies, he’s exactly as likely to commit another crime as he was ahead of his conviction.